Finding Air
by BurrowsBoy92
Summary: Living 2000 meters underground due to the conditions in the above world for several centuries, Michael, Lincoln, and other friends try to find their safe haven to protect a winged-girl and unveil the mysteries that are presented to them. Read & Review! :
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Start of it All**

_You are the chosen one. You're the one who will make change in the world you know now. Know that everything now rides on your shoulders, chosen one. Make your choices wisely. Pick your friends as they will be the ones who will help you make everything possible. Without them, you will not be successful. But know that your life is the one that matters, not theirs. Remember, young dragon, you are the one who will set us all free._

*---*

Michael woke up abruptly from his dream, hyperventilating and sweating like it was summer in Arizona. He took a moment to get himself straight. He was shirtless and was only wearing his uniformed pants as he slept. Michael had a fit body, but not as fit as Lincoln's younger brother's friend and partner, Lycan, or as the people call him, Wolf. The room was really small. All he had was a sink, a toilet, a bed, and a locker to put his things in. The locker was rusting since he was a grunt and grunts get the crappy, if not the shittiest things around the headquarters. His sword was lying at his side and he took it. And just then, the door to his room opened. Michael sat back down on his bed after seeing who it was.

"Hey Linc. Hey Paul." Michael said.

"Come on, get ready, Michael." Paul commanded. "Colonel Padman has a job for us and we need to get there now. It's important that we do this immediately because he needs this job done fast and if we get this done right, he'll give you more trust and possibly raise your rank." Paul explained. He was wearing a blue vest with a white shirt under that. His pants were also a slightly different shade of blue, possibly sky blue. His sword was a light, teal color.

"What about Linc?" Michael asked, curious since his friend was the only person who would stay the same rank just for him.

"I can get promoted at any time, Michael. You worry about yourself, okay?" Lincoln said as he put his hand on Michael's shoulder. He was sporting nearly an overall that was teal that only showed his masculine chest and his strong arms. His sword was colored red and was moon-shaped and thin as Paul's rapier. "Now hurry up and get dressed. I want to get back here for LJ's graduation from the academy."

"Alright then get out so I can change. I'll meet you at Colonel's office." Michael said irritably. He shoved his two friends out of his room and shut the door right behind him. I didn't take him long to change into his small black vest that only covered his chest with a white t-shirt under that. His arms fit into the vest just tight enough to reveal the muscles he had. He took his yellow, regular stereotyped sword and put it in his pant belt.

After he washed his face, he packed up healing herbs in his satchel and then walked out his door. Almost immediately after walking out, he ran into Lycan. He was larger than Michael was and he had black hair. He was wearing nothing but two belts that ran over in a cross over his huge masculine, tanned body. He was just wearing blue shorts that were almost like cutoffs. He was also wearing iron armlets around his wrists. Michael always wondered if he was just naturally that large because at the age of 18 and being that big made him feel like he was sort of insignificant to him.

"Hey, Michael." Lycan greeted.

"Hey, Lycan." Michael said. "The air's a bit different today. Are you heading this way?"

"Uh… yeah. I had to meet up with-"

"Hey!!!" LJ yelled as he ran from behind the two of them, easily bypassing the other men to get through the hall that seemed to barely both Michael and Lycan in. He was wearing his blue mage overalls. They were light enough for him to run in and also to maneuver his incantations and staff movements. They had a golden sun printed on the front; on the back was a gold moon. They were small and long enough that it wouldn't have tripped LJ but allowed for the swiftest movements, especially with the combinations that involved both Lycan and LJ. His staff had a round top with a brown colored stick for holding.

"Speak of the devil." Lycan casually said. "I thought you wanted me to meet you at the arena for a match with Andy and Divy? I mean you were busy making out with Sofia that you didn't want to leave her."

"Shut up with the talking about my girlfriend, Wolf." LJ irritably said. "And Andy and Divy cancelled. They didn't want to fight against you, knowing that you'd probably just kick them out of the arena, or grab them by their shirts and then throw them out."

Lycan sighed. "Well there goes my challenge. And I wasn't going to play dirty like that. I would've tried to keep it… fair."

"With your height of 6' 2" and your huge constitution, a fair fight is hard." Michael acknowledged while directing his hands up and down in the air in front of his body.

"Thanks, like I wasn't already conscious of my height and my body." Lycan grimaced. He sighed. "Well I better get ready for graduation. Not that it matters. All we're wearing are the things that are naturally our own equipment for the jobs that are outside of here." He walked away and turned right at the end of the rusted, badly lighted hall. There was also dirt as the whole entire place was a tunnel that was dug into. Not even Michael could remember how they arrived here.

That reminded Michael of his graduation from the academy. He wore the exact same clothes he was wearing now on the stand when he got his golden pin that marked him as a grunt. Too bad he didn't further it much due to his luck with his jobs and that he always screwed up somewhere, one way or another. If it weren't for Lincoln, he probably would've quit. Lincoln is possibly his closest friend, Paul coming second. He knew he could always trust Lincoln as he did in the academy. It was the same way for Lycan and LJ. LJ befriended Lycan while he was being ridiculed for his abnormal size, if not feared for it. Lycan does have an older brother who's advanced in the higher ranks and a father, but he never talked about them. He only followed orders from LJ, who was the strategist, like his friend Lincoln.

"Yeah… I need to get ready as well. Later, Michael!" LJ dashed past Michael but made a left at the end of the hall.

Michael shook his head and then continued down the hallway, making a left, but making a first right and through the sliding, automatic door. It shut behind him right after he passed it almost immediately. He walked past several office desks, saying hi to a few of people working there who knew him and are hoping that he would one day achieve his dream of becoming a regent. At the end of the hall of desks, he made it to another sliding door and walked inside. Lincoln and Paul were waiting for him.

"Finally you're here." Lincoln said impatiently. "Any longer and I would've probably left and went back to sleep. Or gone to the academy to study on a few more maps that I need to be familiar with before LJ's graduation."

"Lincoln, shut up please so I can give you guys the job now." Padman commanded with authority. All three of them stood at attention. "At ease." They followed the order and stood legs apart, hands behind their backs. "Okay. So due to you guys being the only ones free and couldn't _possibly_ screw this up, I'm giving you this small job." He pulled a paper right under his manila folder. It was full of computer print, no pictures provided at all. Paul took it, read it, and then passed the paper along to Michael who also took the chance to read it. Lincoln received it last and spent the time analyzing every small bit of detail as he could. He wanted to know where they were heading, what they had to do, and any possible thing that could happen. In his mind, he thought of every possible counter to whatever he could imagine, be it a crash, broken railroad, etc. It didn't take him long to finally calculate everything in his head so he passed back the paper to the Colonel. "So your job is to simply guard a package from Biogenetic Company. You are NOT to take a look at the package. Your job is to simply guard it on the train and get it safely to the destination.

"This is a very serious job and also a very easy one. You need this job to go well, Michael, or that's it for you. You're gone if you screw this up."

Michael gulped. He knew where he would have to go if he had to be "casted away". There was no chance of him wanting that to happen because if it did, he would probably rather just jump down a hole to his death.

"You do know that if Michael goes, I'm gone too." Lincoln said.

"Cut the bullcrap, Lincoln. If you try to leave with Michael, I'll have my men chain you up and bring you back here. You are not to leave or do something like that. Besides, how would your brother feel knowing that you're not here anymore?" Padman was a complete hard-ass in his black suit and his five-star beret. He wanted to make sure that he asserted his authority and make his presence known. That is why no one, not even Lincoln, would dare to get on his bad side. If anyone did get there, all they could do is pray that he doesn't do something to get them kicked out of the area.

"Is that all?" Paul asked. "I'd like to get this job done."

"Yes. And as usual, Paul is the leader of this mission. How you plan this out is up to you." Padman said.

They saluted him and he saluted them back. "We'll be back, Colonel." Lincoln and Michael left to get prepared. Paul was the last one to leave but he was stopped because Padman wanted to talk to him about something.

"What is it, Colonel?"

"I'd just received a commission for you to become a regent, Paul." Padman smiled as he said that. But there was just something about his smile. It was a bit sinister.

Paul was taken aback. Not only was his dream about to be reached, but he was going to be at a higher rank than the Colonel and possibly in a better place. "Are you serious!?" He said elatedly. And as he said that, he looked at the Colonel. There was a catch, especially since he was about to be promoted to a way higher rank than the Colonel himself. He was trying to tell himself that he deserved it since very few people can achieve a feat like that in life and his sword skill set and determination got him there, but there was something about the Colonel's smile that was running butterflies in his stomach.

"Yes." Padman said, still grinning. It started creeping Paul out.

"What's the catch?" Paul asked, curious. He would do it, of course because his dream is right there on the line.

*---*

Michael and Lincoln went down 10 meters worth of stairs and turned right at the bottom of the rusted stairs. There were metal plates on the floor that made sound for every step the two of them made. They were heading down to the market to buy healing kits before they headed down to the train station on the left of the stairs they went down.

It made no sense to bring healing kits, but Lincoln knew that nothing ever ran smoothly. He wanted to make sure they were ready for whatever case of emergency possible. So he bought at least 15 healing kits to make sure of that. Michael shook his head as the two of them left the store. He knew that Lincoln was usually a safe, worry-wart, but sometimes he felt that he took their safety a bit too far. But it was understandable. It wasn't a safe world to begin with.

As the two of them walked out of the market, they noticed LJ and Lycan hanging around.

"Hey. Shouldn't you two be somewhere near the graduation area?" Lincoln asked.

"We should be… but we heard that you had a mission." LJ replied as he got up off the side of the wall he was hanging around. Lycan stood there, eating an apple, and staying as far away from the brothers so they could have their moment. Michael moved away from them as well, and decided to talk to Lycan. "Are you sure you'll be able to make it back to the graduation? I mean it's not that it'll be bad if you don't, but you know we haven't been exactly hanging around lately."

"I know. I know, LJ." Lincoln hugged his younger brother. "I know it's been hard knowing that dad is a regent and is somewhere else and hasn't been contacting us and I'm off doing missions almost every time you're free." He relinquished the hug and put his hands on his shoulder. "But understand this, little brother, whatever happens from here on out, I will never betray you or anything. I will always try to be there for you. That's also another reason why I won't bother going up in the ranks yet, besides for Michael's sake. I want to be up there, with you and Michael. After this mission, we should find some time to hang around. You know - reminiscence about our younger times."

LJ smiled. "I'd really like that. Let's do that after you get back, before or after the graduation." The two of them embraced each other in a tight hug. If there was anything that was tender, it would be these two. LJ and Lincoln only really have each other since they no longer have any contact from their dad. The twelve year age distance meant nothing to these two; they acted like they were just a couple of years apart and were protective of one another.

"Okay, you guys should get ready to go." LJ said after releasing the hug. Lycan and Michael joined them after they could tell that they had their touching brotherly moment. "We all know how Paul is about getting a mission started and on time."

Lycan took a bite out of his apple again. "He was more of an ass about it, actually." He said with his mouth full, smiling with his mouth closed. The other three of them laughed.

"How come you're able to crack jokes when you're around us?" Michael asked. "Earlier you were all shy and self-conscious about yourself."

Lycan crossed his arms around his chest after eating the rest of his apple. He threw the remains of the apple in the trash can from where he was standing. It was a swish into the can. "I… feel comfortable when I'm around just you guys. It's like nothing matters when I'm here. I want to protect my close friends. Life's too short here, isn't it?"

Michael nodded his head. "Life is too short, indeed." He checked his watch. "Well we should be going off, Linc. We don't need to have Paul on our case. Colonel does that enough."

"Yeah. Alright, we're off, guys." He hugged LJ once more and shook Lycan's hand. "Watch over him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid before graduation."

"You bet." Lycan assured him with a small smile. "Take care, you two."

And they bid them farewell and went their own ways. Michael and Lincoln practically ran their way to the train station, knowing that Paul was already there and that the two of them were wasting their time, dillydallying in the market. However, they really didn't care if Paul yelled at them for being late. He was really impatient to begin with and they happened to deal with it on a daily basis.

When they got to the station, Paul was already on board the train. There was a colossal sized capsule on top of one of the carts for the train. Paul was already on the front, which meant that both Lincoln and Michael would have to get the back. The horn whistled and the two of them ran down the steps, almost tripping down, and jumped onto the capsule.

The train ride was smooth for five minutes now, nothing happening. Paul was sitting in the front, talking to the conductor. Lincoln decided to take a nap as he barely caught any sleep the night before. Michael stood at the top, tending to the Automatic Machine Gun that was already there. It was a pretty boring ride at the moment. There was nothing to do so Michael ran over several thoughts in his mind.

He was thinking about his life up until now. There was really nothing much to think about. He went to the academy for several years, graduated with Lincoln and Paul, and after that, his life went downhill. He was a failure in every possible way, even in the simplest of missions. He couldn't begin to fathom as to why Paul kept him on the team. He knew that Paul was shooting for the top, and that's where he wanted to be as well, but his swordplay was not up to par and neither was his planning. The only thing running for him was his courage and stubbornness to never back down, no matter how the odds were. That's the only thing he had over Lincoln, who was possibly far advanced in swordplay and in strategy.

A minute later, an alarm went off on the train. This woke up Lincoln and everyone looked around to see what was going on.

"Shit! A Company operative!" Paul yelled as he pointed at the other side of the railroad, which was about 50 meters away. The female Company operative was riding on a Cyclops. She was wearing a mask with red eyes to keep from revealing her identity and she had an orange tail and ears. She was a woman of the tiger tribe. She had a gun in her holster. She was also wearing a tight blue suit that tightened around her curves, which allowed for her to move without any fear of tripping.

Michael and started firing the Automatic Machine Gun at her, but the shots were too far and he kept missing.

"Michael, aim at where she's going!" Paul yelled as he pointed. But as he turned back, she was gone.

"Where did she go?!" Paul yelled. Everyone was looking around. But then they looked in front of them. She was there on a rock platform, with a rocket launcher.

"Shit!" They all yelled. She took a shot and blew the bridge apart, separating the front with the package. Michael and Lincoln fell with the package and Paul was knocked out on top of the train and was out cold.

*---*

Michael could see nothing around him. It was all dark. There was no fire. He could feel his body aching in several places. He cringed at the pain. He held his ribs and started to lip forward, hoping that he could see something. Then, he heard a voice in his head.

_Are you about to give up?_

Michael remained silent and thought "I don't know. Where am I?"

_You can't give up. There's so much more for you to do._

What are you talking about?

_Don't give up. You have so much untouched potential. Now wake up! WAKE UP!_

*---*

Michael woke up abruptly again. He started to sweat and hyperventilate. He looked around and he could see that Lincoln was face on the ground and that the capsule was broken. But none of that mattered. What bothered him most was the dream. What could it have been about? What was that voice in his head? It was so deep and rough, but velvet and caring at the same time. It was almost as if it was his guardian. He had his own guardian voice.

He snapped himself out of his stupor and sought out Lincoln, who was still on the ground. Was he dead? Michael didn't know. He was more so saddened for LJ than himself. He checked for a pulse. He let out a breath of relief knowing that his heart was still breathing.

Michael took out a healing kit out of Lincoln's bag and started treating the wounds on the two of them. It took him five minutes to treat all the minor flesh wounds on his shoulders and his chest; Lincoln, three minutes on his shoulders and face. As he finished, Lincoln woke up and groaned in pain.

"Hey, are you alright?" Michael asked, feeling better that his friend was back into consciousness. It felt like a building was lifted off his shoulders.

Lincoln groaned and slowly sat up. "I'm fine." He looked around. There was the broken capsule and there was nothing in it. Also there was a small fire just a few meters away from him. They were lucky to have landed on lower ground, no matter how far. They could've dropped down the dark abyss and were never to be found again.

Lincoln checked to see if any of his bones were broken. He shook his legs, his arms, and even moved almost every part of his body that he could. None of them were. He got up right after and cleaned the dirt of his clothes. "Come on. Let's go."

"Go where?" Michael asked. He stood up as well, dusting himself off.

"I think I know where we are." He pointed at a rusted shack that was several meters away from them. "If we head there, we might be able to find elevators to take us up. I don't know how far we dropped, but I remember reading that they had elevators drop down to 2100 meters."

Michael kicked a rock off the edge of the cliff they were on. "Well I guess we can have a little bit of faith and see if what you say is true."

"Have I ever failed you, Michael?" Lincoln asked, hurt by Michael's thoughts.

"No, but I have failed you and Paul several times." Michael recovered.

Lincoln dropped his head and shook it. "Michael, you're wrong yet again." He looked at him again. "Come on, let's go." Lincoln started walking off. He could tell Michael wasn't following him. "If you don't hurry up, I'm leaving you!"

Michael ran off to catch up with him. He smiled out of embarrassment that he doubted himself again in front of his good, no great friend. Once he caught up with Lincoln, he slowed down to a walk at his pace and they walked right inside the rusted shack.

*---*

Right when they passed the working sliding door to the shack, they heard footsteps. They actually sounded like _thump… thump… thump…_ They were slow steps one after another. Michael and Lincoln hid behind two huge piles of trash.

It was the Cyclops that was with the lady! But there was something in his arms and she looked like she was struggling. She was wearing a run-down hospital gown. But the most striking feature about her was her white wings. They were majestic and they shined brighter than a well-polished gold jewelry.

This made Michael furious and his eyes started to glow red and he felt like he could just run and fly towards the Cyclops and save the girl. Lincoln didn't even notice anything different about Michael until he ran up the pile of garbage and jumped off the top of it, his sword above his head. He was flying through the air and Lincoln could only just stare after him. Lincoln was just astonished, but he had a feeling that there was something different about Michael, something he didn't know about.

Michael flew through the air and was right above the Cyclops. He slashed his sword down and cut the Cyclops's arm off, causing him to scream in pain and for the white winged girl to drop to the ground. Lincoln ran in and grabbed the girl. She was afraid of him.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm with that man over there. You can trust us. Come on. Let me lead you to safety. This fight's not done yet."

She nodded her head and Lincoln led her behind a mountain of garbage. He heard Michael fighting in the distance and drew his sword. "Stay here and don't move." He said firmly. Lincoln got up and ran to help Michael.

The Cyclops only had one arm to attack with, but he was pretty strong. Michael dodged and rolled back. Lincoln was at his side just then. He took a look at the damage that Michael did and the Cyclops looked pretty weak by then as its green blood started to drip and ooze out of the cuts on its body.

"Did you do that?" Lincoln asked Michael, still staring at the slowly breathing Cyclops.

Michael took a look at the Cyclops and he was surprised he managed to get that many strikes in without getting hurt. "I guess I did."

"Let's finish this off." Lincoln commanded. And just then, he and Michael both ran at the Cyclops at full speed. Everything was moving so fast that they couldn't have seen what was going on. The two of them slashed their swords forward and the next thing they knew, they were on the opposite side of the Cyclops.

They were frozen in place, holding their swords in the same stance without a sudden movement. Afterwards, they sheathed their swords and the Cyclops dropped to the floor. It was dead.

*---*

They took the moment to rest for a little bit. Lincoln decided to scout the place out a bit and Michael decided to take a look at the white-winged girl, who was still sitting in the same place Lincoln had left her, following his orders. Michael sat down right next to her. He noticed that she had a black armlet on her right wrist with a strange design running around it.

"Are you a magic user?" Michael asked. She nodded her head. "What type?"

She put her hand on the floor and just then, a magic staff appeared in her hands. The staff glowed red and had a heated feeling around it, just enough to make Michael's body warm.

"Ah… a fire staff user." They remained silent as they sat there. Lincoln was watching from the distance, but stayed hidden as he wanted to give Michael and her their own time. He understood his friend more than anything, but does he really know? Michael's red eyes; his speed was so unbelievably fast. There were so many questions he had for Michael, but he trusted him and knew that when the time was right, he'd tell him. It bothered Lincoln the most to know how Michael could achieve such a hidden power like that. He envied him.

"What's your name?" Michael asked, breaking the silence.

"S-Sara T-Tancredi." She answered.

"Are you alright, Sara?" Michael asked, concerned about her health. "Did it hurt you?"

"No." She said.

"Where did you come from?"

"I… don't remember." She closed her eyes and her wings spread. They were about 4 meters in length. "I can't remember anything from before the crash."

Michael was shocked by that phrase, _from before the crash_. "Wait, you were from the capsule? You were a package?"

"I don't know." She put her hands on her head. Michael touched her on the shoulder.

"It's alright. No one's going to hurt you."

Lincoln approached the two of them. "Well, I'm pretty sure you guys had enough time, but we need to hurry and go. I don't think we would want everyone to think that we're dead."

Michael stood up and helped Sara stand. "I think you're right. By the way, her name is-"

"Sara." Lincoln finished. Michael made a look trying to understand how he knew. "I was around; not 'around around', but around."

"We need to go now. I don't want LJ thinking I'm dead. I'm the only one he's got."

Michael nodded. "You're right. Let's go." He held Sara's hand. "Let's go together with Lincoln, Sara." She smiled and nodded. The three of them ran further into the shack.

*---*

"So… you failed your mission. That's a major disappointment, Paul. And now Lincoln and Michael are missing." Padman said. Paul was back in his office. He had to report the mission, knowing that it was a failure.

"No one could've predicted that we would be attacked by a skilled Company operative."

Padman slammed his folder on the desk. It sounded like thunder struck. "I don't care! If you want to become a regent now, you're going to need to find Michael, Lincoln, and the package and _take care of them_. I've enlisted several people to go with you. You'll have mages and gunmen."

"What about the close up battalion?" Paul asked.

"I've had that taken care of." Padman nodded his head at the man staring by the doorway. He went out to go get someone, or something. "They don't know the mission and don't tell them anything. They're fresh out of the academy, graduated today. Those two are the best you'll get for your close up battalion."

Paul looked behind him when he heard the door slide open. And the two people who walked in were Lycan and LJ.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Lovers and Friends**

After breakfast, they clean the dishes and head in to the lounge room. Veronica takes a seat beside Lincoln and they snuggle up together, Lincoln's arm draped around her pulling her in to him. Michael sits on the single seater with Sara seated on his lap, his arm wrapped around her waist and hers resting atop his. They turn on the TV to see what's on, but nothing interests them so they turn it off again.

"So, what's everyone got planned for the day?" Sara asks, and then giggles as Michael's fingers caress her belly, tickling her slightly. "Babe, you know how ticklish I get, especially there." She slaps his hand lightly and he grabs it and brings it to his lips, placing a tender kiss on each of her knuckles.

"Would you prefer I do this instead?" he asks playfully between each kiss.

"It's better, Scofield, but you know there's one thing I like more than your kisses and that's you tender t..."

"Ah-ah-hem," Lincoln loudly clears his throat, causing Sara to stop mid sentence and look sheepishly over at him.

"Oh, come on, Burrows, we all know it's true," turning to Veronica she nods her head at her and continues, "Tell him Vee, what's better then tender kisses on your knuckles?" She smiles at her and wriggles her eyebrows suggestively, causing the foursome to erupt in laughter.

They settle a few minutes later and Michael reiterates the question Sara had posed before the sexual innuendo began. They decide to go out for lunch, Michael and Lincoln calling this "the first date" for the couples which resulted in a quick kiss from their respective partners as Veronica and Sara lifted themselves off their sofas and made their way to their rooms to get ready.

"I can't believe I have her in my life again, Mike." Lincoln's voice is low and full of emotion but a smile is plastered across his face as he speaks. "I thought I had lost her, that day when I..." he falters and finds himself unable to continue as the ringing of gunshots sounds in his ears, the same sound that had haunted him since the moment he heard them and thought her lost to him forever.

Seeing the distress on his brother's face, Michael places a hand on his shoulder and offers him a warm smile. "It's ok, bro. She's here now, safe and alive and happy. We can put all that stuff behind us and start fresh, Linc. That's what this is all about, starting fresh and getting our lives sorted out again."

"I know Michael, but sometimes I think this is some twisted dream and someday I'm gonna wake up and find myself back in that dark cell in Fox River or worse, on the run living in a world where Veronica no longer exists."

"I know Linc, me too sometimes. But then I wake up and I find Sara lying next to me and I'm holding her in my arms and I know that it just cannot be a dream." He stops a moment and with a sparkle in his eye's he continues. "This is real, Linc, Veronica is not a dream, this whole life we're living right now, it's real Linc, it's all real."

Nothing more is said after that and five minutes later the ladies reappear. They are both dressed casually, in skinny leg jeans (laughing at the coincidence of them both having the same True Religion jeans on) and casual tops slightly dressed up with accessories and make up.

Lincoln and Michael take a moment to admire their women, each couple sharing another kiss, deeper and more passionate than the rushed one the ladies had supplied them with earlier. It is a few minutes after midday when they are heading out the door the soft click of the lock falling in to place eases them just that little bit more.

They pile in to Lincoln's car and drive down to Bluegrass Café, having already decided this date of theirs would be a casual affair. The car ride is a hustle bustle of chatter, laughter and the low thrum of the radio as the foursome enjoy quality time with each other, talking about the most inane of subjects, desperately trying to make their lives as normal as they can once more.

They are about five minutes from the café when the opening chord to Cindy Lauper's _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_ begins to play on the radio. Veronica and Sara immediately begin to croon away to the song, bopping in the backseat to a very amused Michael and Lincoln. The final words of the song are sung just as Lincoln pulls in to the parking lot, and Veronica and Sara share a knowing smile between themselves: girls do just want to have fun, and they are no exception.

They exit the car and walk in to the café. They receive a few stares from people who had obviously been following the news during their escape fiasco and beeline to a booth in the far corner of the café, wanting as much privacy as they can get. The booth also provides them with a somewhat intimate setting, and they take a seat and order drinks from the waiter before picking up their menus.

"I guess that fillet mignon will have to wait a little longer, Sara." Michael tells her sheepishly from his position beside her as he slides his hand up and down her leg under the table. She looks back at him with a twinkle in her eye and just smiles, amazed that through everything that had happened, he remembered that one small, almost dreamlike conversation they had in the back seat of a car so many months ago.

Across the table from them, Lincoln and Veronica have abandoned their menus and are engaged in some serious lip-time, as though indifferent to the rest of the patrons, namely the one's sitting directly opposite. This time, it's _ahem_ that brings them back to reality and a slight blush creeps over Veronica's smiling face.

"Sorry guys," Lincoln smiles at his brother and Sara, "Let's order us some grub." He turns around and ushers a waiter passing them by. After a few minutes, they've ordered their meals and another round of drinks as they wait for appetisers, which arrive five minutes later.

Over lunch, they talk about everything and anything. Over dessert, they talk about everything and anything. Things that are important, things that not, trivial things, random facts; anything that is deemed a normal conversation is spoken of. What they don't talk about is Fox River, or Sona, or Panama, or the Company, or anything that they went through because of them. Today they want to be normal people doing normal things, not the notorious criminals they had been perceived as, nor the infamous ones who had been involved in _that_ great conspiracy.

After dessert and coffee have finished, they pay the cheque and leave the café. More patrons gawp at them unashamedly as they make their way out, but they are indifferent to them, showing that ignorance truly is bliss. Lincoln unlocks the car and he and Veronica climb in, Veronica taking the passenger seat to be next to him while Michael and Sara linger outside a moment linger. Grabbing Veronica's hand Lincoln places a soft on her knuckles.

"You know," she whispers with a smirk on her face, "there _is_ only one thing better then a kiss on the hand, Burrows."

"Oh?" he replies, going along with the playful banter. "And what would that be?" He doesn't let her respond instead he leans over and plants a kiss on her lips. Opening his mouth, he runs his tongue around the edge of her lips, asking for access granted immediately. The kiss is deep and passionate and Lincoln's hands find their way from hers to around her back and he slides his hand over her clothed back slowly.

Veronica pulls out of the kiss and looks at him breathlessly. No words are said, the sexual tension in the air so thick it was visible. Turning from Veronica, Lincoln winds down his window and looks over at his brother and Sara, standing a few feet from the car immersed in a silent conversation.

"Uh, guys," he speaks quickly as he starts the ignition, "Vee and I are heading home we'll see you there later ok. Bye." By the time he speaks the final word, he has already pulled the car out of the parking lot, Sara and Michael fast becoming tiny dots in the distance.

They stare between each other in shock, then slowly, like thunder brewing in the distant, waves of laughter pour out of each of them, starting in a low chuckle, then erupting in to something much louder and raucous.

After a few minutes on non-stop laughing, Sara finally manages to string together a coherent sentence. "Can you believe those two, acting like sex-crazed maniacs and all?"

"Actually I can," is Michael's swift reply, "Because you know if we had gotten in the car before them, I wouldn't have bothered telling them anything, just drove away to get in to the real action." He wriggles his eyebrows up and down at her.

She shakes her head and laughs at his comment. Grabbing his arm she says "Come on, Scofield, show me the city through your eyes." They link arms and begin to walk away from the restaurant, looking as much the happy couple they truly are.

Lincoln parks the car and the two of them step out and make their way back to the house. In the elevator, they find they are alone. They huddle in to the corner and he pins her against the wall and sends his lips crashing on hers again. They don't get the chance to deepen it for too long as the electronic voice of the elevator tells them the doors are opening on the fourth level. They hastily pull apart as three other people join them in the tiny box.

A minute later, they are on their level and Lincoln almost breaks in to a run, rushing to get to their door. Swiftly pulling the key out of his pocket and sliding it in to the lock, he steps inside then turns and grabs Veronica out of the doorway as she had just appeared. Kicking the door closed behind him, he tosses her bag aside and the keys aside, all the while keeping his lips firmly planted on hers.

He guides her to the bedroom, wanting nothing more than to rip her clothes off and take her then and there, but he refrains. The back of her knees hit the bed frame and he gently guides her downwards, falling lightly on top of her.

His arms skim over her lithe figure, trailing from her hair, gently caressing each and every part of her body until they come to rest on her hips. He squeezes them gently, pulling in to him slightly more. Several minutes pass before he breaks away from her mouth and begins a trail of tender butterfly kisses down the length of her body. He kisses the area just below her belly button the starts up again. When he reaches her face, he plants a deep kiss on her lips, pulls himself off the bed, and closes the door, ready now to feed the screaming beast within them both.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Coded Message Behind Enemy Lines**

LJ and Lycan left the bathroom soon after the other men did. They stayed soundless through the unlit, dark, dirt filled room, and almost feeling like it was a metallic plated cave. Being swift as possible, they made it make to their campfire without anyone wondering where they went. In fact, no one paid any attention to them, which was expected from LJ and Lycan. Sitting around the campfire, they realized everyone was going to sleep and that they should probably do the same. But they didn't want to. There was much to figure out if they were to save the lives of Michael and Lincoln.

They were eventually forced to sleep though as Paul came around with a bucket of water to put out their campfire. With a voice of a commanding vice, he demanded them to sleep and to get ready for tomorrow. LJ felt like lashing out at him, but followed his orders and went inside his tent, where Lycan was already prepped inside. They're tent had to be larger than the others because of Lycan's bulky, muscular constitution. LJ shivered slightly as he sat inside with a faintly, lit lamp. He had to stay up all night to plan everything. In the meantime, he rummaged through his backpack, trying to find a blanket. When he did, he covered himself around with it. It was still cold. Then, out of nowhere, Lycan tossed him his blanket. LJ caught it with his hands. He realized that it was his only blanket.

"Aren't you freezing cold?" LJ asked, confused and wondering if he was oblivious to the cold. It felt like it was 20 degrees cold in there.

Lycan shook his head. "No." He couldn't feel the cold air coming in from outside into the tent. If it could snow in the tent, it would've happened. "It feels like it's warm in here. You were quivering under your blanket and I really don't need mine at the moment."

LJ couldn't understand if Lycan was sick or not. He thought of the possibilities of illnesses he could have, but came up short. Shafting off the thought of his friend being ill and trusting his judgment that he's alright, LJ contemplated on several tactics to forewarn his brother without any possibility of them being caught for not being in their tents during the night.

There was one way, but it was a long shot. Hoping he could get this to work, he let Lycan know of the plan, murmuring inaudibly for anyone outside the tent to hear. Obviously, Paul has people taking shifts on supervising them and everyone else.

Lycan perked up his head. "Are you sure this will work? Are you _absolutely_ sure that Linc will catch onto this?"

LJ shrugged. It wasn't like him to gamble his chances, but when the time for it boiled down to where it really mattered, there was no time to figure out how to get this to work to ensure that no one wounded up getting hurt. "Linc and I understand each other more than you think."

Lycan trusted him, knowing LJ doesn't usually lie. He would've caught him almost immediately if he did. "Well, I hope you can hold on for that long." He grabbed LJ and schlepped him over his shoulders. He walked outside and passed one of Paul's men. Quickly running, he ran into the other bathroom, the one they were supposed to use, and shut the door.

"I'll get to work on this." He said, holding LJ's multicolored handkerchief. He grabbed a permanent marker out of his fanny pack hanging behind him. He ripped the colors of the handkerchief apart and then laid it on the floor, putting several marks that resembled dots in a line.

LJ observed him closely as he worked swiftly, but carefully. "Hey, make sure that the dots are numbered right." He tossed him a piece of paper that he always had in case he forgot what the order of the dots were supposed to look like. "If you misplace a dot, this won't work." Lycan nodded, and took the paper. He placed it to the left. LJ sat down, cross-legged, and shut his eyes.

*---*

They could've sworn that they were in the restroom for a couple of hours, but when they walked out, it was still dark. The two of them were up for about an hour at best, setting up for Lincoln and Michael's arrival and their warning. Exhausted by the travel and the late night work, Lycan and LJ went back into their tents for the night and slept.

Morning rose sooner than expected. When the lights flickered on, LJ ascended onto his feet and kicked Lycan in the abdomen. He woke up and grabbed the vibrant colored ribbon on the ground next to him. LJ looked him in the eyes and nodded. Lycan reciprocated with a nod of his own and the two of them walked into the daylight. The room was the same except for the tents and campfires all over the area.

When the two of them walked up the steps to what appeared ahead of them was a hallway, Paul approached them from behind out of nowhere.

"Where the hell do you two _think_ you're going?" Paul asked roughly. There was no doubt he wanted to push his authority.

"We forgot something back at HQ and we need to go to the nearby market to see if they have one." LJ answered in kind. He glared at Paul. Knowing what he already knew, LJ grew weary of his antagonistic attitude towards him and his partner. "Is that a problem?" He irritably asked, nearly snarling. Lycan kept his cool, ready to pull LJ and Paul apart if they broke into a fight.

Paul snapped his head away from LJ's face. "Do what you want." LJ and Lycan started walking towards the door in front of them. "But!" They stopped in their places, a few feet from within the door. He snidely smiled. "If you aren't back within the next hour, you're going back to the academy for those eighteen grueling, painful years." He grimly added, still smiling sinisterly.

"Just shut up and go your own way, Paul." Lycan replied harshly. "We'll be back within the hour." He said without sparing a single look at Paul's face. The two of them walked through the doors and then across the wooden bridge to get to the market.

*---*

Getting across the wooden bridge was simple enough. There was nothing but bees flying around that LJ froze and let them drop down into the dark abyss below them. The bridge was a bit shaky and raggedy, but it supported them all the way to the other end of it. They walked through the dirt, rocky hallways to get to the market.

The place was pretty rundown when the two of them arrived at the market. The tarps had holes in them, there were drunken and drugged up fools lying on the ground, and it seemed like the whole place was just filled with thugs and those who were sent away. Lycan and LJ both knew that this would be where Michael would be sent if he failed the mission, which by fact to them meant that they did fail the mission, otherwise they wouldn't be sent all the way down here to kill them. It still made no sense to them, but that didn't matter to the both of them. What really mattered was how he really felt about his brother and his friend.

They walked through the center of the market, not straying so much as a few inches from the center of the rocky path laid out in front of them. There had to be someone or somewhere they could've left the ribbon out so that Lincoln or Michael would notice. Time was of pure and utmost concern as they've already squandered 25 minutes and they really didn't need any more problems when they got back.

Everyone was staring and gawking at the two of them as they walked by. They looked a little too… rich… in their case. Lycan could feel the cold, icy stares behind him and he shuddered slightly with each step. LJ was oblivious, but that was because he was looking for a spot or someone to leave the ribbon in someone's hands.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Lycan asked impatiently, feeling a bit worried about being down in the lowest sector of the whole world. They were down by at least another 100 meters. He detested having the amount of attention that he wouldn't normally get back at headquarters.

"I'm trying my best to see where we can leave that ribbon that you're apparently caressing nervously in your hands." LJ snarkly replied. He turned around to Lycan and started walking backwards. He could see that he was rubbing the ends of the ribbon nervously to calm himself down, but it wasn't working. "Will you stop rubbing your fingers on the ribbon?" He commanded. "You're going to rub off the permanent marker." Lycan stopped his hand movements. He mouthed sorry and LJ nodded.

They finally wandered to the other end of the market. Feeling disappointed that there was no safe place to leave the ribbon, LJ sighed then turned around. He felt defeated; not just for himself, but for his brother as well. They had about fifteen minutes to get back before Paul would go into his authorative mode and chastice them for not following orders. Lycan had left him to get something usable, and cheap for an alibi. He sat down on the raggedy, old chair next to him. It didn't occur to him that the place the chair was in front of was a tavern. He contemplated whether or not he'd go in there to get food for rations based on the condition of the tavern itself. It was distorted with holes in the roof, two broken windows blocked off by driftwood, and a dirty sign that read "Life of Meami". He also dredged up that the whole market was packed with rotten thugs that he and Lycan avoided as much as possible.

Figuring that he should stick according to plan, LJ also realized that they'll need a lot of food for rations. He didn't want to go in because Lincoln always taught him when he was growing up as a child to not go into suspicious places. LJ did go inside a tavern like that before. He didn't know where he was going. All he could remember was that Lincoln had picked him up in his arms and ran out. He had never seen his brother so unbelievably infuriated before. He tried to avoid making him mad again, but now, it was different. He was full of wisdom, had capable fighting ability, and he was 18. He knew he could take care of himself when the situation arised.

Once LJ had analyzed situations and supplied the solutions for each scenario, he walked inside. The area was just as he predicted; gruesome and rundown. But that was only the tables. The people who sat on them were the same, except some of them looked more professional like they were the mayors or wealthy leaders of the place. It didn't fool LJ though. He could tell that they were just as thrifty as the other men they were talking to.

Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, LJ slowly made his way to the counter. It wasn't long before the kind lady who was working had approached her. She had short, black hair, a white tanktop with a few red stains on them. She was about Lycan's height surprisingly. She was also pretty fit. "Hi there!" She greeted in a sweet voice. "What can I get for you today?" She smiled just as sweetly as she spoke. LJ was taken aback. He didn't expect to find someone nice down there and working in a place like the one he was in.

He finally realized his face must've looked stupid and surprised, he gulped to clear his throat. "Uh, what do you serve here that's good for long journeys?" LJ asked nervously._ Crap! That sounded stupid! _He revealed a goofy smile at his dismay.

She smiled sweetly again. "So you just need bread, fruit, veggies, and water?" The lady wasn't about to tease LJ for his gaffe. And she was right on the dot too.

LJ finally calmed down. "Yes." He said. "Also do you have canned food and could you can everything elde?" He asked more confidently.

She thought and hummed at the same time. "Sure! I think we can do that for you. And would canned chili with beans be alright for you? It's all we have left and we won't be having our new stock for another couple of hours. Unless you'll still be here for awhile...?"

LJ cutted her off there. "I really have to get out of here in less than ten minutes so could you get to work really fast?" He asked impatiently.

"It'll be done in five minutes." She reassured him. LJ nodded and then paid for the costs. He sat around, not bothering to look around at the people around him. After about five minutes, he received his order and stashed what he could in his bag. He knew Lycan would be back soon and then he would be able to pack the rest of the food in his bag.

LJ thanked the lady and began to make his way out. He was looking at the ground and paid no attention to what was in front of him. He crashed into a larger man. He had holes in his shirt and pants. He was shorter than Lycan, but still large. "Sorry." LJ said.

"I think it's going to take more than just a simple apology for me to forgive you for crashing into me." He said in a deep, terrifying voice. Just then, everyone else around him who were minding their own business stood up. It looked like the whole tavern was a gang. LJ looked back and the lady who was at the counter had disappeared. He was in a lot of trouble now.

A man slightly taller than LJ grabbed him up by the collar of his shirt. "How about sharin' some of that food you, little, rich, ranger punk?" He brusquely said.

Just when LJ was about to get a beatdown, something happened so fast that he couldn't tell what happened. The man who lifted LJ by his collar was kicked to the other end of the tavern. He was sent through the wall and there was a giant hole in the wall. Lycan was standing in front of him.

"You son of a...!" The large man started, but then was punched in the face. He fell to the floor and was knocked out.

"Anyone else?" Lycan asked coolly. Then everyone jumped both LJ and Lycan.

*---*

"You couldn't have waited for me?" Lycan asked angrily as he carried LJ over his shoulders.

"I thought it wouldn't be that bad." LJ replied shamefully.

Right after they were jumped and attacked by the rest of the men in the tavern, LJ's staff and hands started to glow blue with an aura. Chanting the words almost inaudible to hear and understand, he spun the staff over his head and then slammed the ground. Everyone he wanted to hit froze around him and Lycan. Following the ice spell, Lycan kicked everyone away in a tornado spin attack, causing all over them to slam through the walls. They didn't shatter into pieces, but the ice around them did, successively knocking all of them out. The tavern was destroyed as a result, but before that happened, Lycan grabbed the food and threw everything that LJ had left out into his pack.

Lycan snarled as he ran through the market. They had to get back to Paul in time. "I can't protect you if you're doing dangerous things on your own accord without me."

LJ wasn't having any of it. His best friend was acting like his brother. "Who said you had to protect me?" LJ snapped. "I don't need you to protect me all the time and I don't need you to act like my older brother or caretaker!"

"You don't understand!" Lycan snapped back. He wanted to stop running, but kept on going for both of their sakes.

"Then help me understand then! Why do you have to protect me?!" LJ asked heatedly.

Lycan couldn't find an answer in place of the one that was the truth. He made two promises that day to Lincoln when he talked to him while he was training. One was to protect LJ when he wasn't around and the other was to not let him know that he told him to do so. He said it was to make sure LJ was able to grow up without him knowing that he was always under protection. "I just have to alright! Just leave it at that!" He continued to run through the market.

They ran silently for a minute. There were two minutes left before Paul would send a search team to find them and he was about three-quarters of the way to the bridge.

"Wait, the ribbon." LJ recalled, speaking softly. "We didn't leave the ribbon somewhere."

"Don't worry. I took care of that." Lycan reassured him. "I wasn't gone that long for a reason, you know."

They started talking about anything but the protection argument. There was just too much negative energy brooded from it that they had to drop the argument until they were absolutely calm.

Lycan jumped over the trash bin that was on the ground and ran across the bridge to the other side. They made it with thirty seconds to spare.

*---*

With the combined knowledge from both Lincoln and Veronica, the team successfully avoided many of the dangerous conflicts in the tower-like shack. The only real fights that occurred were between them and overgrown, poisonous spiders. Each one was burned, cut down, or shot to death. Veronica had demonstrated her gun skills to the team to prove her worth even further. She was there for Sara, but now she was there for Lincoln to save his brother; little did they know that they were close by.

Veronica shuddered. The thought of having to fight spiders again freaked her out. Lincoln took immediate notice. "Our assassinator isn't afraid of spiders now, is she?" He half-heartedly joked. She turned around to glare at him. Lincoln put his hands up in the air.

"Will you two not fight for at least a couple of minutes?" Michael asked. He and Sara had to deal with their childish antics the whole entire way. Lincoln and Veronica were arguing about which way to go. Although they had to combine their efforts to get out, the two of them were fighting like two alpha wolves in a pack. They both sought the leadership.

Everyone was walking silently. They made it to the market.

"Finally!" Michael said happily. Sara smiled when Michael turned around to look at her.

"Yes, we made it out of there." She said in her graceful, singing voice. She then flapped her white wings to stretch them out, not realizing that Lincoln, Veronica, and mainly Michael were entrapped by her beauty. Sara suddenly blushed when she saw Michael's stare and what she felt what Michael was feeling. She was his and he was hers.

Lincoln shaked his head, snapping himself out of his stupor. "Let's find the tavern and get some food to eat." Lincoln suggested. He turned to Veronica to see if she had anything to argue against it. She nodded.

"Let's go get something to eat. I didn't think the mission would've been prolonged for more than a day. I need to preserve my rations." She said. "I know where the best tavern is in this dyspeptic place." Lincoln nodded in agreement. They were finally on the same page.

"Lead the way." Lincoln let her walk by her so the rest of them could follow. He knew that she was hard to deal with, but inside him, he liked that there was someone else besides LJ to argue intelligibly against. LJ rarely did argue with him to begin with.

As they started walking, a little girl with a puppy came behind them. She was staring at Sara's wings and then turned to look at Lincoln, almost appearing as if she was analyzing him. "Hello." Lincoln greeted her in a light, friendly voice. He kneeled down to her level. She had silky, brown hair, and was wearing a slightly dirty white, house gown.

She continued to stare at him. "Hi!" She said in her innocent, kid voice.

"Where's your mommy and daddy?" Lincoln asked.

"They're at home." She replied. "I like your wings." She said to Sara. She knelt down and gave the girl one of her white feathers.

"Go run along to your mommy and daddy now." Sara said in a sweet voice.

"Here." She gave a colorful ribbon to Lincoln. "Take this for the feather!" She then ran off with her puppy. "Thank you!" She yelled back.

Lincoln and Sara stood up. They smiled once at each other then turned to Veronica. "You're pretty good with kids." Veronica acknowledged.

"Took care of my younger brother." Lincoln told her. "We only had each other. Dad was ranked higher up. Mom died young." He sighed. "That's pretty much it. We never heard much from dad since he became regent. Just a few happy birthdays here and there." He looked up at the dark air above him. "Let's go eat."

Veronica nodded and lead the way to the tavern. They passed by several thugs whose gazes were captured in Sara's grace. It made Michael defensive so he held her hand. Sara smiled and then looked forward.

"Well this is just great." Veronica groaned. They had reached the tavern, only to find that it was destroyed and in rubble. "This was the only tavern that actually served decent food in a hellhole like this."

"Is there any other place?" Michael asked before Lincoln could make a comment. "We're not picky." He looked at Sara. "You're not picky, are you?"

"Nope." Sara replied. At least that's how she felt. She still couldn't remember her past; no memories of anything except for what she has seen now.

"Sadly, the rest of the taverns serve nothing but trash, literally speaking." Veronica sighed. "I wonder who destroyed the tavern?" She asked.

The same, large man who attacked LJ and Lycan came behind them. He was bruised pretty badly and his arm was casted. "Want to know what happened?"

Everyone turned around to look at him, waiting patiently for the answer.

"A kid in blue overalls and a man larger than him came by and destroyed the place. The kid was carrying a lot of food as well. I don't know what it was for, but I don't care. If those punks come back, I'm layin' a beat-down on 'em." He said while punching the air in front of him. "If you see them, beat them up for me." He walked past them, made a right into a small alley and disappeared.

Lincoln and Michael started to feel like they knew who the people were the man was talking about.

"You don't think…" Michael paused then thought on it again for a moment. "No. It couldn't be could it?"

Lincoln thought again and then remembered the ribbon the girl gave to him. He took it out. It had black dots like it would on a normal dice block. It was multi-colored. But there were only ten colors. The dots were erratic. Then, it finally clicked. "It was them." He held the ribbon to everyone.

"What does the ribbon have to do with anything?" Veronica asked. "That little girl just gave it to you for one of Sara's feathers."

"This ribbon here has several colors on it and dots like a dice block." He untied the ribbon. It was about thirty centimeters long. He pointed to the dots then pulled out a sheet of dots that had letters on them. It wasn't just dice dots, but there were dots relatively too close to each other, almost making a dash. It was Morse code. "There are ten different colors here." He pointed to each color in order. There was green, blue, red, yellow, orange, brown, black, purple, cyan, and teal. "Each color represents the order in which the words would appear in. LJ and I both said that it should go in order from light to dark."

"So basically, your brother is trying to tell you something." Veronica concluded.

"I think there's more to that." Sara added. "The man said there was food he was carrying, right?"

Lincoln nodded and then smiled. "You're right. Let me decipher this message to make sure you and Veronica are right, Sara." He turned to Michael. "Take half of the ribbon and decipher the words out for me."

He complied and they ripped the ribbon in half, taking extra precautions to make sure the dots were not ripped in half. It didn't take long for Lincoln to decipher his half. He looked only a few times to remember which part of the Morse code represented each letter. Michael finished his half shortly after he did. They then reorganized the sentence according to color by the ribbon from the lightest to the darkest.

The words they wrote down laid out in a sentence that they didn't anticipate: "Paul is waiting to ambush you. Be careful. LJ, Lycan."

Lincoln held the ribbon in his hand and thought of LJ, thanking him closely in his thoughts. His brother was somewhere within the vicinity of Paul and he felt relieved that he can tell his brother the truth and get him and Lycan to safety. All it took was to avoid the ambush. Or get through it.

"What do we do?" Sara asked.

"This seems to be the work of the Colonel." Veronica stated. "He either wants you, Sara, or he wants Lincoln and Michael dead."

"Or worse." Michael grimly added. "He wants Sara and the rest of us dead, but Paul is our friend." He was conceited. He always thought of Paul being the good man who would help bring him up from the bottom to the top, although that never really worked several times. "I think he'll understand if we explain the situation."

"Michael, the man will do anything to reach the top." Lincoln knew that Paul was a man who would only do whatever it took to reach fame and power. "I bet that the Colonel promised him a promotion to regent for killing us."

"Paul's our friend!" Michael yelled angrily. "How could you say that?" He believed Paul was a good guy inside. They have always worked together.

"Because I'm doing what is necessary to make sure we stay alive." Lincoln said calmly. "Look, all I'm saying is don't think Paul is going to listen to you for a second. The guy is waiting to ambush us and we're this far below headquarters. He's trying to kill us."

"He's right, Michael." Sara said irrefutably. "We need to make sure that we stay alive, including LJ and Lycan." She stood right beside Lincoln.

"Michael, who are you going to trust?" Veronica asked as she moved on Lincoln's side of the argument. "Your friend here, or your _friend _up ahead?" She waited for Michael to say something, but he didn't. There was nothing to say. "If what LJ and Lycan are trying to tell us is true, then we need to make sure we can defend them and ourselves." She stared him in the eyes. "I'm pretty damn sure you don't want Sara getting hurt."

Michael scoffed. It was unbelievable. He always trusted Paul and Lincoln, but now he didn't know who to trust. Veronica's question had him left thinking. But he knew for sure of one thing. He wanted to protect Sara. However, there was a side of him thinking that if he could talk to Paul and explain everything he and Lincoln learned over the past few hours that he would switch sides.

Lincoln broke straight into plan, getting formations, and every possible solution to staying safe. He put Sara behind them in a triangle formation. Veronica would cover Sara's right, Lincoln on her left, and Michael in center. Knowing that Lycan and LJ would fight their own style, he counted that he wouldn't have to worry much about them. LJ was just and every bit as smart as him.

They were ready. At least they hoped they were.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Hell, Heaven, and Back Again**

It was approaching night again. Lycan and LJ were in their tents the entire time, packing and organizing the food LJ had bought. When they finished, Lycan grabbed all of it and dashed out of the tent to hide the food. It didn't take him long though. He came back right before anyone noticed he was outside. Right after he came back, he never left the tent.

Lycan was bored so he wanted to dig into LJ's past. He never got much from him except what Lincoln had told him. He knew it wasn't the best thing to ask about a friend so he spilled his story first to lighten the impact of his question.

Lycan was an outcast child to begin with. His parents were rotten towards him when he was growing up. They valued his older brother more than him. He knew that he was adopted, but he was looking for love. And he didn't get that from them. His foster mom died later from cancer in the liver. His brother was crying, but he couldn't cry. He didn't know how. There was nothing he could do. Others took notice of it and branded him as a heartless child. Everything for him went further downhill for him after that point. He gradually began to care less about what everyone thought of him. He never talked much as he grew. His father became regent as well as his older brother. He was left alone, but he preferred it that way.

When he turned thirteen, his body changed sporadically and enigmatically. He grew larger than everyone else and was stronger and quicker than usual. Inside himself, he knew it wasn't the classic case of puberty, but there was no other way to explain it. Then he trained himself in the martial arts just because he figured he could use his newfound strengths to his ability rather than using something as sharp as a sword or as piercing as a gun bullet. There was also magic, but he'd rather not sit and study for such a period of time.

"You were a lonely kid growing up?" LJ asked kindly.

"Yes. There were others whispering other things too, like they knew something about me that I didn't know." Lycan said solemnly as he stared at the ground.

"I'm... sorry. About your past. I didn't know that much." LJ said apologetically.

Lycan shrugged. "There was nothing much to be sorry for." He paused and sighed. "Well, what about you? What was there for you in the past? Lincoln gave me the quick run-through... but..."

LJ sighed. He knew that he was leading into it, but he had hoped that Lycan wouldn't ask. It wasn't because he didn't want to tell his friend; it was because he only knew what his brother had told him. "Well, I don't really know much except from what Linc told me.

"When I was born, there were some... complications. She died shortly after I was born so I didn't get to meet her. But what made it even worse was that Linc was depressed and sad that he lost the mother he was close to.

"Our dad had been promoted to regent before I was even born. When Linc told him about mom's death, he didn't come back to get or take care of us. He just, well, dropped us as a family.

"Linc had to take care of me by himself and that was pretty much it. I had a babysitter regularly because the best money that was available or could be earned was..."

"Being a ranger." Lycan interrupted, knowing that those were the exact words.

"Yes. And he would put his life on the line for me. I loved him and it terrified me each day he was away. I didn't like being alone, so I decided to become a ranger like him.

"There are a lot of other things that complicated life as we grew up though. That's just the only version I know. Linc can give you the rest of the details when..."

LJ was cut-off in mid-sentence. Lycan had pushed him out of the tent. He was about to badmouth him when he watched in horror at what was happening before him.

Lycan was tackled by several men in the middle of night. He was gagged and restrained with ropes. He only managed to yell out a few words. "LJ, RUN! GO TO LINC!" He struggled to break loose of their hold, but there were too many of them to fight against.

LJ was frozen. His body wouldn't react. His mind was internally debating what to do. Then he heard "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? RUN, YOU FOOL!" Lycan roared.

Then he was stabbed in the neck by Paul. Lycan's eyes dilated. Everything he felt was no longer there. Everything turned black. Paul removed his sword and Lycan collapsed on the floor.

LJ turned around and got up with the reflexes of a rat being chased. He ran as fast as possible, but he was then shot in the back of the head.

*---*

When morning came, it was almost a normal day; an ominous, normal day. The area Michael, Lincoln, Sara, and Veronica were camped in was secluded and reclusive from the market. They were resting deep inside the small alcove so it appeared as if there weren't a soul in sight. If the forced, retired rangers and citizens of the low-sector city saw a light in the distance, it would've caused a catastrophic pandemonium. The buildings were already unstable enough that with the people panicking, they were sure to fall.

When the light hit Michael's face, he woke up. Sara slept beside him during the night. They stayed away from Lincoln and Veronica on the other side of the campfire. He continued to just lie down with Sara sleeping against his side.

As he watched Sara sleep, he thought of how innocent and beautiful she was. Her white skin radiated brightly in an entrapping way. She looked extravagant and Michael couldn't deny anything. He would do anything to protect her, even sacrifice his own life.

Michael knew there were last minute preparations that had to be made before the ambush. He got up on his feet slowly, making only the necessary of movements to allow Sara to sleep more. Luckily for him, the cave was near a river. He walked over to it to clean his face. The cold water was refreshing, almost a relaxant, and a drug, to calm him down.

He splashed some more water in his face.

"Hey." Lincoln said from behind him. He knelt down and splashed water on his face as well.

"Hey." Michael replied back. He forgot to grab a towel. Lincoln threw one at his face. "Thanks." He said and then dried his face.

Lincoln finished cleaning his face and dried it with the other towel he brought. "Sooo... how was your night with Sara?"

"It was great." Michael answered brusquely and calmly. He wanted to avoid the questions about him and Sara. Everyone knew that the two of them liked one another, but he didn't think it was that obvious.

"Alright. I know you're not going to fill in the details to your buddy so I'm not going to push it. Better not to push you rather than have you screaming at me and telling me a lie when we all know you two like each other." Lincoln said as he walked away. He turned around with a huge smile plastered on his face and started walking backwards. "I'm glad you found someone you like Michael."

He stopped in place, near the entrance to the cave. "There's something different about you, Scofield. I can't put my finger on it, but you've changed. You're not the failure everyone thought of you to be anymore. There's..." He thought for a few moments, figuring out what to say. "A new aura about you. It... makes you a different person; a person with a new ambition."

He turned around and walked into the alcove. He was poised to wake Veronica in a kind, friendly matter. "Make sure you're ready! As soon as Sara and Veronica are ready, we're going to get my brother and Lycan!" He yelled from inside the alcove.

Michael chuckled silently to himself. "You found someone else you're fond of yourself, Burrows." He muttered under his breath and smiled. Then he stared at the door to the bridge. There was going to be a major battle and what frightened him the most was that he would lose one of his friends, and worse, Sara.

*---*

Paul was making the last, few preparations for the arrival of his old mates and for the mission to be over. He wanted this mission to be over, but there were raging thoughts and running within him. He just killed Lycan and LJ brutally. And now his mission was to kill Michael, Lincoln, and the package. Before, the mission was to kill Michael and knock out Lincoln to take him back to the Colonel. But now, it's everyone, his team; all for a stupid promotion; a stupid, but worthwhile promotion.

He cleaned the blood off his sword in the bathroom. After turning off the cold water, he saw himself in the mirror. "Is the promotion worth it?" Paul guiltily asked himself. "Is killing my teammates worth getting regent?"

The answer lies inside you, Paul. His image spoke to him. What do you think is the right thing to do now? You've already crossed a line. You killed Lycan and LJ. The mirror image then smiled snidely. What difference does it make if you… kill a few more people? Isn't achieving regent what you've been fighting for? Your lifelong goal?

Besides, even if you turned your back on this whole entire mission, what do you think Lincoln would do to you if he saw his dead brother? How long do you think it'll take until he realizes that you're the one who killed his little brother? Not to mention if he does figure it out, which wouldn't take long since you know he's a genius, he will tell his friend. Everyone will turn on you.

Paul shook his head. "I just had orders to follow. That's all." He defended weakly. His conscience was winning. He felt trapped. He buried himself in a very deep hole that wouldn't be easy to get out of. All of his actions were taken just for the status of becoming a regent and he was very desperate to become a powerful ranger. If only it were easier, if there was a way to go back and do things differently.

He frustratingly punched the wall, leaving a white hole and cracked tiles ridging outwards. He walked outside and was approached by several lieutenants who had their squads awaiting his orders.

"Commander Paul." The Fire Mage Squad Lieutenant greeted with a salute. The Ice Mage, Lightning Mage, and the four Gun Squads Lieutenants followed in kind. "We await your orders. We also tied up Lycan and LJ and hung them as you can see up there."

He pointed up at the roof of the white, thirty meters by thirty meters by thirty meters room. Paul took a gander at LJ's and Lycan's bleeding bodies and watched as the blood dripped down onto the floor, leaving a puddle in front of the stairways. He cursed himself repeatedly in his mind. The promotion wasn't worth it anymore. He was killing innocent people and he didn't know why the Colonel wanted him to do dirty work all of a sudden. And what was the package that he was meant to slay?

"Commander?" The Fire Mage Lieutenant asked, snapping Paul out of his thoughts. Paul turned to him with an expressionless face. "What are you orders?"

Well, there's no going back now. "Everyone get into position!" He commanded fiercely and unfaltering. "This ends today!" Everyone cheered and shouted in agreement. I will get my promotion to regent. That's all that matters now. He thought grimly, knowing that he must stick to his decisions now through wherever it would take him.

*---*

Michael took Sara for a walk around the market. The bought quick-healing remedies, herbs, and potions with the little money they had for the coming battle. He sharpened his sword and Sara practiced some of her fire spells. She was a very capable fighter herself. She was able to shield everyone in a flaming dome and shoot fireballs out of her hands. But she was not very talented at close combat, which was where Michael came into the picture. Michael could take a beating and it wouldn't faze him too much. His threshold for pain was great, but his swordplay needed work. He swung too wildly at times.

Veronica practiced her aim against Lincoln in quick skirmishes. It was a stalemate every single time. Lincoln's agile style and stance made it hard for Veronica to extrapolate where to aim. His movements were too erratic for her. But when it came to close combat, Veronica was amazingly more skilled at avoiding Lincoln's attacks, which allowed her to use a shotgun. The shotgun was devastating at close range, but even more deadly at point-blank range.

They rested for a bit after they completed the preparations; both mentally and physically. Everyone was familiar with each others skill set and that made it possible to fortify their weaknesses.

"Are you all prepared for this?" Lincoln asked. He looked at everyone, all of them nodding at the same time. He smiled. "Let's go!" He led the way across the stepping stones in the river.

As they swiftly ran up the mountain of rocks, there were several stalagmites and rock formations behind them. The rock formations looked like the past, their history of being in the world they lived in. It started when a man and woman led the world down here. They ruled like a monarchy. However, their time was short-lived. Soon after, the world revoked their authority. Everyone fought with guns blazing, swords swinging, and staves twirling. There was supposedly more on the rock formations, but the rest of it was eroded into rubble. Lincoln and Michael had questioned their history as there was little to no information on the king and queen. All they could tell was that history led them to break off into several governed civilizations.

After making it up the hill, they ran a few kilometers to reach the same raggedy, old bridge that Lycan and LJ crossed. It was about 50 meters long. As Michael and Sara ran ahead, Lincoln stopped Veronica. He looked her in the eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked brusquely. "Come on, let's-"

Lincoln held her arm and moved her away from the bridge as she made an attempt to run forward. He looked at her in the face. "You don't have to go with us and risk your life. This isn't your fight." He said softly. Lincoln was feeling vulnerable at this point, but it didn't matter with her. "I can't guarantee you'll make it safely so as of now, I'm giving you the option here to split and run." He said serenely, really caring for her safety. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You've done enough for us and I'm grateful for that. And the warnings…"

"I'm going with you guys and I don't care what happens to me." Veronica said conclusively as she looked Lincoln in the eyes. "I know you guys will go far and what really matters most to you is family. I lost my little sister and boyfriend and I really don't want you to lose close family members and friends." She turned away. "Besides, you're going to need a woman with a good shot." She said narcissistically.

Lincoln smiled, but then half-smiled when Veronica turned to look at him again. "Well it's your life. Hope you don't die." He dashed to catch up with Michael and Sara, leaving her to think.

Veronica shook her head and chuckled. "Way to be Burrows." She said heartedly. "Way to be." She swiftly sprinted across the bridge and then caught up with the rest of the group. They waited in front of the two doors.

"Are you all ready?" Michael whispered. He looked at everyone and they nodded. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it, he kicked the door open and they ran through with Michael leading as point. Sara stood right behind him and to her left and right sides were Veronica and Lincoln.

Treading slowly and quietly, they made it down the tiled steps. The room wasn't illuminated at all. Once they made it down the steps, the lights flashed on and they were blinded by the light. Michael groaned and then when his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he saw Paul with a fire mage and gunman in front of them. They looked like they were ready for a fight.

He turned to Lincoln, Veronica, and Sara, noticing that they were all looking up. Above them on the hallways branching left and right of the stairs were more mages and gunmen, all fixated on them. They stood at ease, waiting for the order. It was like LJ forewarned, there was an ambush waiting.

Michael turned again to Paul, who was now taking slow steps toward him. "Paul, what's going on here?" He asked, fully knowing well what was going on.

Paul stopped in front of him, his blade at his side. He didn't say anything but stared at Michael with his half-opened eyes.

"Paul?" Michael asked, trying to grab his attention. He wanted to explain to Paul what was going on. Then Paul waved his hand up. A gunman on the right aimed up and took a quick shot. Lincoln glanced up and watched horrifically at what was falling. His heart dropped completely and he was frozen at the bodies he saw drop before him.

There was blood still flowing slowly out of LJ's and Lycan's body. Lincoln dropped to his knees and cradled LJ's body. He rocked back and forth, holding back the tears that were already dropping down his face. He kept his head up to avoid looking at LJ's cold, lifeless face. He muttered something inaudible to hear, but Michael could tell that he was telling him sorry for not making it in time. His voice trembled as he continued weeping.

Michael then turned his furious face to Paul and felt a throbbing pain in his right knee shortly after. He yelled in agony. Paul stabbed him through the knee cap and pulled out his sword. He then stabbed Michael through the neck and his eyes dilated. He could feel nothing as Lycan did. Everything went black on him.

"MICHAEL!!!!!" Sara cried. It was the last thing he heard.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: A Rude Awakening**

"Michael!" Sara cried again with the faintest slight hope that he was alive. She knew he wasn't but she didn't know what else to do. Once Paul unsheathed his blade from Michael's neck, he jumped back a klick and watched him fall to the floor.

Lincoln knew that there was no time to mourn and with Michael dead, he had to figure out a way to get out. He was pissed at Paul for killing his brother and his friends, but everyone else's safety came first.

Veronica saw Sara's eyes and knew what her next reaction would be. The bullets and spells started flying all over the place as she maneuvered to garb Sara and pull her back. She was still her mission, but she was a friend.

She dragged Sara into cover to avoid getting hit by projectiles. "Lincoln!" Veronica yelled. She popped her head out and waved at him to come towards them. Lincoln nodded and ran back carefully. He jumped into the covered area. The place became a battlefield and if it weren't for the inaccuracy of the mages, there wouldn't have been rubble on the ground to hide under.

"We need to pull back Lincoln." Veronica suggested coolly.

"Yeah, like I haven't thought about that myself." Lincoln replied sarcastically. A fire ball blasted on top of the rubble, making an exploding noise. "God damn it. We're not going to get out any time soon." Another fire ball exploded on top of their roof.

Sara looked out a little bit and closed her eyes. She could feel them moving and closing in on their position. With the mages bombarding with spells above, there was nowhere else to run. They were ruined and done for.

Another fireball, this time more potent than the last few, blew the roof off. "Shit!" Lincoln growled. Then the strangest thing happened. They were surrounded by an ice shield covering them from above their heads and in front of them. It was too thick for a spell or a bullet to pierce.

"What the...?" Veronica was amazed that there was an ice mage that could've been able to create a shield thick enough to block projectiles. Then she saw a kid and a masculine man in front of them.

"LJ..." Lincoln muttered silently to himself. His brother was alive and so was Lycan. He smiled that his younger brother was more talented than he thought. _Thank God you're alive, little brother_.

LJ and Lycan turned around and smiled. "Sorry about the illusion, Linc. But we knew what was going on and we had to make it as believable as possible that Paul executed us."

"Explain to us later." Veronica said brusquely. "We need to get out of here."

"Wait, what about Michael?" Lycan asked. He looked for each pair of eyes. Sara, Lincoln, and Veronica despaired. "Where's Michael?" He demanded.

*---*

Michael was running in the dark, not sure where his destination was. He didn't know what he was running from or for. All he knew and felt was fear. He turned around to see what was behind him, but he could see nothing but the dark shroud behind him.

"Sara! Linc!" He yelled frantically. He was alone and he needed some guidance or the comfort of his friends.

"Where are you guys?!" He yelled. He felt empty inside.

"Michael." An unfamiliar voice with a deep, alto, female voice Michael heard in the distance. Then suddenly, he saw a bright, yellow, mysterious light was approaching him from afar. It was walking slowly towards him. He didn't know how to respond to the light. There were two choices: Run or go to it.

Michael started walking slowly towards the light. As it grew larger, he had to shield his eyes. After several minutes, he reached the light. The figure that was in front of him was majestic. It was a woman, but a beautiful woman. She was wearing a white, wedding dress that emitted the light. Her skin was emitting the same light. Her long, blond hair appeared silky and as light as one of Sara's white feathers. She was a pure albino.

"Who are you?" Michael asked calmly.

"You, Michael, are my descendant, my son." She said in her graceful, low voice.

"What?" Michael was taken aback. It couldn't be true. He was an orphan since he was a child. The foster parents who came to the orphanage never wanted ti adopt him. He was alone, except for the first time he met his good friend, Lincoln.

Michael never knew his parents. When he could finally see the world for what it was when he was six, he realized that he was never wanted. He joined the other orphaned children in playing their fun, entertaining games such as basketball, soccer and football. He was horrible at each of those games. A failure. A failure and a loner as a child. He tried to get better, but he wasn't hand-eye coordinated for football and basketball, and he always tripped when he played soccer.

It wasn't much different when he was training with Lincoln and Paul as rangers. What took Paul and Lincoln a couple of days to master techniques took Michael almost two weeks to get used to. He didn't understand why he couldn't get it as fast as they could. He knew that Lincoln and Paul were more advanced than him, but he was slower than the average fighter.

Then it was time for his first mission as a ranger, after barely passing his exiting exams at the academy. He remained in Paul's and Lincoln's group. Lincoln had persuaded Paul to keep him in the group. Well, it wasn't as successful as he thought it would be, but he made it a package deal. It was him and Michael or he could form his own team.

Paul had succumbed as he knew he needed Lincoln. He had the highest score on the exam, nearing a perfect score out of a possible 2400 points. The test was based on the correct answers and the time it took to finish the test. There were a total of 150 questions, all mixed with multiple choice, extended answer and essay questions. The test time limit was two hours. Every minute after that would subtract 1 point from the score. Lincoln finished his test in two hours and ten minutes; getting every question right and a few points taken off his essay questions.

Michael had barely passed the exam with a score of 1350. Any score below 1300 would've resulted in a failure. There was no exam after that; just a single graduation.

Then there was his first mission. Michael had the job of getting to the switch to turn on the electricity to the elevator. Michael had to fight through monsters, but he wasn't prepared for so many. Paul knew he might've taken too long so he stalked him silently. Michael couldn't handle so many small ants and rats that Paul had to step in and help clear out the inferior monsters. Michael finally had reached the switch and Lincoln was waiting.

"Do not worry about your past, young warrior." The radiant white lady said, knocking him out of the memories that flashed by him. "None of that matters, my son." She changes the scenery and Michael was watching a battle go on. There was an ice dome in the middle of the field, being bombarded by bullets, fireballs, and lightning bolts.

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

"You were killed in the battle." She told him. Michael then looked around and saw his body.

He shook his head in disbelief. "That couldn't be me. I mean, I-I-I'm alive, aren't I?"

"You were stabbed in the neck by your former friend, young one." She zoomed in on Paul, who was standing on top of the stairs, ordering everyone to work harder to break through the ice dome.

Michael finally lost his temper. He trusted Paul and he killed LJ, Lycan, him, and now he's trying to kill Lincoln, Veronica, and Sara. His eyes glowed red. Then his arms grew red, burning scales. His clothes disappeared and the scales spread over his chest, his lower body, and his feet. The aura around him burned and emitted a fiery feeling. His fists became claws and his head was then covered with red, spiked horns with sharp hair growing out of his shaved head layering backwards.

"Go my descendant. Save your world. Use this new power sparingly. It'll be your savior in times of need. Overuse it and you will fall to the pits of hell. Make the wise and right decisions, young dragonic beast warrior."

And on that command, Michael flew through the portal back to his world. His dead body disintegrated on the battlefield, but went unnoticed. He had no control of himself and could only think of his thirst for blood.

*---*

As the battle continued to ensue, the ice dome started to erode from the relentless and endless attacks from Paul's oversized squad. LJ had fortified it much from the inside, but they couldn't stay in the cold for too long. They would eventually have to come out and fight them to the death, facing injuries and casualties.

LJ knew that in order to stop the damage taken a little bit, he slammed his staff into the ground to cast a magic barrier on everyone that allowed them to take a few hits before real damage would be done. He almost exhausted his strength in doing so. Lycan threw his arms in the air, slammed his right foot down and his arms down into an arch. His hands glowed yellow-red aura that emitted as if his fists became fortified with steel. Sara tapped into another power she didn't know. She spun up into the air for a few meters, twirled her staff above her head with one hand and used the other to push the air in front of her. Everyone's morale and strength were boosted for the battle.

"Paul is mine." Lycan grimly said. "He's going to go down for the pain he put us through." He stared through the ice, clearly seeing Paul at the top of the stairs. Lycan was ready to make the quickest dash of his life for him. He was going to show him what it's like to mess with friendships.

"The Winged Girl and I will provide covering fire." LJ added, still not knowing who Sara was. All he knew was that he could trust her.

"Veronica and I will take out the mages and gunmen." Lincoln said as he sharpened and readied his sword. Veronica cocked her shotgun and then took out her semi-automatic machine gun.

LJ checked the dome. "It's about to shatter. Get ready for some smokescreen, winged girl."

"My name is Sara Tancredi." Sara corrected in her beautiful voice. LJ was taken aback and then nodded.

"Get ready to smokescreen, Sara." He smiled.

Sara smiled back and nodded. She started spinning her staff and it started to burn with fire. As soon as the dome shattered, she threw her spinning staff into the air and the area was surrounded with smoke. However, to their dismay, one of the mages dispelled the smokescreen and everyone could see where to aim their guns and spells at. Lycan was already gripping Paul by his shirt and Lincoln and Veronica had taken cover behind the pillars on the second floor to avoid being hit by projectiles. LJ and Sara were ready to cast when the cease-fire ended.

Then another explosion happened in the same spot where Michael's body used to be. And standing in it was a changed person. A powerful changing Michael.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay so I actually got super gory for this. And I intend to keep it that way since in Chapter 4, I had blood dripping and with that, I figured that I could push the boundary further. So I hope you all enjoy. And please review! I would love to hear your comments on this story! Criticism included. Harsh or not :O.**

***-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-***

**Chapter 6: Berserker**

Everyone was still, staring at the new person and figure standing in the hole he left. They were all frozen in place, not knowing what to do. They didn't know what it was and what it was capable.

Paul tried to get off of Lycan's hold, but soon realized that he had his sword taken and in Lycan's other hand. He was wondering how come no one could've have sensed him and LJ, specifically his mages squads. Mages have an inate ability to feel magic being casted. He knew of a cloning technique that allowed a mage to use their mastery element and create a realistic mirror image of themselves. But what he didn't get about LJ's clones of himself and Lycan was that the mages couldn't sense the magic coursing through the clones' body and how they made them almost human-like with blood coursing through bodies. Normally, clones would dissapate into the element of the mage that made them, like ice clones into ice cubes, fire mages with ashes, and lightning into just a breath of air.

He knew that there was nothing else that he could possibly do to get out of his grip, so he stared at the new figure before him and everyone else. Lycan was distracted and he noticed his hands loosened their grip on the collar of his blue vest. He took the chance to kick him hard in the side. In the process of it, he took has blade and slit the upper-part of Lycan's left arm, blood staining his blade. Lycan grunted and immediately backflipped back. He used his right arm to cover the opening.

The noise from Lycan's grunt and landing alarmed Michael. He suddenly yelled and looked around to find where the noise came from. Everyone else was still, except for Lycan, who was breathing slightly and massaging his shoulder. Michael flew, leaving a trail of fire behind him in the air and stopped in front of Lycan, who suddenly froze.

_Oh shit._ _Should I run and evade? _Lycan stared at the unknown figure before him Then he noticed his eyes. His eyes burned red with fire, but he could see a little blue in them, as if they were some small chance that he was human. He didn't know if he should speak, but he turned his head slightly to look at Lincoln. Finally deciding to take the risk, he spoke. "Linc, where's Michael's body?" He asked, knowing full well that below them, Michael's body wasn't there in the hole.

Lincoln thought for a moment. _Michael's body's gone. It's like it was never there. And his eyes were different when we were fighting the Cyclops. _He extrapolated the facts at last and knew what to say. "Michael!" He yelled, thrusting his sword and smiling.

Michael then swung his claw at Lycan, who then skillfully dodged the sudden attack by bending backwards. He backflipped, continuously dodging his swipes. "Michael, stop!" Sara yelled. She flew up towards Lycan, blocking Michael from moving forward.

He stared at Sara. His head was fogged with his lust for bloodshed. "Michael..." She said softly in her graceful voice.

"Sara, bad idea." Lycan said, frightened for her safety. He knew that her attempt to talk to Michael was a bad idea. Michael has gone berserk and he can't recognize his friends. If he tried to attack Sara, there would only be one course of action for Lycan. He would have to take the brunt of the swipe, not knowing how painful it could harm him, or if it was capable of killing him.

"Everyone continue attacking! Take out Michael and his friends!" Paul yelled out of the blue. The mages started blasting Michael with their spells while the gunmen started aiming for Lycan, Sara, and Lincoln.

"Come on Sara!" Lycan picked up Sara and then jumped down from the second level, bringing her down to LJ. LJ casted a quick shield that protected Lycan and Sara from gunfire for the moment. "Watch over her!" Then a fireball aimed at the three of them split them apart.

LJ blasted three ice spikes at the mage who fired a fireball. He pierced his chest twice and his neck. The mage fell to the floor dead. Sara shot a fireball the size of a bowling ball but stopped it in front of two gunmen. She flicked her wrists, exploding the ball into lava and magma. The skin on their faces burned off, leaving nothing but their bones and skulls. LJ blew an icy cold wind to harden the magma. They then turned their concentration to the gunmen, throwing spells and avoiding being shot all at once.

Lincoln swiftly moved, almost at the blink of an eye, he cut and sliced the defenseless gunmen, blood splattering everywhere. Michael, uncontrolled as he was, went straight for the mages that threw endless spells at him. He wasn't fazed by a single attack. Nothing seemed to be effective against him. He was impervious to all of it. When he approached one of the mages, he thrusted his sharp claws into one of their chests. The man screamed in agony and in pain as the blood dripped down Michael's arm. He loved the feeling of blood against his skin. Every single mage became terrified and started to run across the second level, the soon realized there was a dead-end. Michael slowly approached them and then terrified all of them further with a shout that would pierce fear into the heart of even the bravest soldier. He then completely mutilated the mages, leaving a pool of dead bodies accompanied with ripped body parts and blood in the corner of the hallway on the second floor. The blood started to flood down like a river to the first floor.

Veronica pulled out of the area and ran to assist Lincoln. She used her rifle to shoot the other gunmen that Lincoln couldn't reach while he was busy with those in front of him. Each shot was a headshot, blood popping out of their head and oozing out onto the floor.

Lycan hunted down Paul, trying to make sure that he wouldn't go for the others and that he would be the one to take him down. Paul was more skilled than he was and knew how to avoid Lycan's swift, and potently powerful punches and kicks. He managed to slice his other arm, forcing him to pull back a bit.

"Pull back now, Wolf." Paul said coolly. His blade was at his side and ready for any following attack. "You better keep that life you still have! I will end it without a doubt!"

"If I leave you alone, others will be vulnerable to your attacks." He yelled back, breathing hard slightly. He was injured and he didn't know how much longer he could last against Paul's attacks. He couldn't get close enough to render him useless. It was like he knew how to defend against the martial arts, or he could easily read his movements. "I..." He started and took a deep breath. "Won't let you hurt my friends!"

"Hah!" Paul scoffed. "Your choice!" He angled his sword behind him and ran at Lycan. Lycan readied himself to counter-attack. Then Michael flew in between the two of them, stopping Paul completely in his place.

_Shit. We're screwed. _Paul and Lycan thought simultaneously. Lincoln and Veronica had retreated to the bottom floor and stood with LJ and Sara. Lincoln almost rushed off to help Lycan until he saw Michael there. Everything became still and silent again.

*---*

Michael shifted between Lycan and Paul's eyes. He couldn't recognize the two of them. But he could feel the life, the beat of their hearts, and their blood coursing through the veins. He was, however, more inclined to kill Lycan. His blood felt different to him, almost infuriating. He turned towards Lycan and started to swing his claws at him.

Paul knew his whole squad was dead. Seeing that Michael was attacking him, he took the chance to run, get away, and head back to HQ. He was going to find out why Michael was different and fight him again with an advantage, if he ever had the chance. He also wanted to know why the Colonel wanted them dead all of a sudden. As long as his questions were answered before he became a regent, he didn't care. Although now he knew that his chances of achieving Regent were probably gone now after he thought about it. So he made the decision to find out what was going on with the Colonel and why he was acting that way. It was time for him to forge his own journey.

As Paul mysteriously left, Lycan had to focus on avoiding Michael's attacks. Lincoln, LJ, Sara, and Veronica rushed up to the second floor but held back. They didn't want to approach Michael and have him turn on them. But they knew they had to do something. Lycan was already injured and he wouldn't be able to continue dodging his attacks for long.

"Linc, we have to do something." LJ said frantically.

"We can't do anything, LJ." Veronica quickly defended. "You saw what those mages tried to do. None of their attacks even scratched him. I am willing to bet anything that none of our attacks could even hurt him, let alone tickle him." She added sarcastically.

"But we have to do something!" LJ shouted. He was going to wait for his friend to be killed brutally like the mages he completely mutilated. He threw an ice spear at Michael, watching it immediately dissipate into water as he caught it in his hands.

He turned to LJ and roared, terrifying everyone. Lincoln, Veronica, and Sara jumped to the side, hitting the wall. LJ was stunned in place. He didn't know what to think. He just stood there, wondering what to do.

"No!!" Lincoln yelled. He started to move towards LJ to block him, but Lycan made it there first, pushing Lincoln out of the way. He blocked LJ from being seen by Michael. He flew swiftly and slashed him in the back. Lycan grunted and then Michael stopped himself before thrusting his other claw through Lycan's chest.

"Lycan! What the hell!?" LJ yelled at him, terrified that he was going to die. Lycan then dropped on top of LJ. "Oof!" Lincoln and Veronica immediately responded and tried to lift Lycan off of LJ. It was hard as the guy was heavier than the world's heaviest wrestler. But eventually, they got him off. They had to get away from Michael. LJ pointed at the door that was on the second floor and near the dead gunmen. "Head there!"

They swiftly took Lycan and ran to the door. Their footsteps splashed with the blood on the floor. LJ kicked the door open and went through. Lincoln and Veronica left them there and turned around, realizing Sara didn't follow. They went to the entrance of the door and saw that she stood there.

"Sara! Come on! Get away from him!" Veronica and Lincoln yelled in sync. She wasn't listening or responding.

*---*

Sara and Michael stood there across from each other. She couldn't hear Veronica and Lincoln yelling. All of it sounded like a blur. "Michael…" She said softly. Michael roared again, but she didn't falter. "Don't lose yourself." She said softly. Sara walked slowly to close the distance between them. She stood right in front of him, looking down at the ground. She could feel his skin burning, but she didn't want Michael to hurt anyone and himself anymore. Then, she grasped him in a hug.

Michael froze. He remembered that touch; that soft, silky smooth skin. He lowered his defenses, causing his skin to cool off. _What's… where… who…?_ Michael stood still, slowly regaining control of himself. "Sara…" He said weakly, suddenly transforming back to his human form. He suddenly passed out. Lincoln and Veronica ran for Michael and Sara.


	7. Chapter 7

**So I just wrote this light chapter today and had no beta. Let me know what you all think!**

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**Chapter 7: Explanations**

LJ brought them to a small encampment they made in the room that lead out of the bloody battlefield they were in. It was like the area they slept in before it turned into that horrendous area, but smaller with halls. There were two halls, one leading to a ladder that led up about 15 meters. The other hall led to a dead-end, where Veronica, LJ and Lycan were hanging out for the time being.

Michael lied on the floor, completely knocked out. Sara had his head on her comfortable lap. Her arms and hands swayed around his neck and shoulders. She covered him with his sleeping bag to keep him warm. She sat there, staring at Michael's expressionless face. He was completely wiped from the battle. She didn't know what was going on with Michael; why he couldn't see what he was doing. He was attacking his friends and he almost killed her. He had no control over himself in his berserk state and no one could get to him, except for her.

Lincoln walked over to check on Michael. He knew that he wasn't awake, but he had an endless amount of questions he wanted to ask about his friend. When he took a look at them, he saw that Michael was still out. It's been almost six hours and he knew that Paul probably reported what happened, which meant that they would soon be in crosshairs again. Lincoln turned around and went to check on LJ and Lycan.

He walked around the corner of the small room they were in and saw that Veronica was working on Lycan's wounds as he sat down, bent over so she could treat the long claw wounds on his back. He started shouting in pain as she touched the wounds with some medicinal herbs found in the healing kits they bought.

"Will you calm the hell down?" Veronica said frustratingly. "It's not helping if you don't shut up."

"I'm sorry, but- Ow!" He grunted. "This isn't exactly treating the two cuts on my arms."

"That's sad." LJ shook his head. "You can handle being cut, but you can't handle being treated. What happened to your threshold for pain?"

"It came and- Ow; went."

Veronica checked the wound again, but she could see that the herbs weren't working. The cut from Michael's claws were different and she was afraid that the wound would get infected if they kept traveling with it. He didn't exactly wear a shirt and the two belts that crossed his front and backside weren't going to protect him well if a monster were to simply touch it.

"So, how bad is it?" Lycan asked.

"The herbs aren't working. Your back is still bleeding and I have nothing to stop it. Covering it won't help." Veronica stated, standing up. She brushed the dirt off her pants and then looked at Lincoln.

"We need to get him to a professional." She said to him.

"We can't head back to HQ." Lincoln stated. He sighed and stared at Lycan, who, in his condition, was still able to smile and shrug off what could happen to him later if they continued moving forward. Then Sara walked by Lincoln. She sat on her knees behind Lycan, holding her hands out behind the wound. Her hand started to emit a fiery, white light. After a few moments, she stood up herself, everyone in awe at what she did.

"When did you learn how to do that?" LJ asked after he checked Lycan's wound. The cuts were smaller and the bleeding had stopped. Lycan's body was still warmer than usual, but he didn't look ill.

"I don't know. I just knew what to do. I don't know how and I don't know where. I just…" She then started to cough. The air around her, which everyone else had adapted to, sickened her. It hadn't bothered her much as they traveled through the warehouse, but now she knew it was getting bad.

"It's alright Sara." Veronica interrupted. She looked between the eyes of wonder of all of the men around her. "There's… one way of finding out why Sara is the person she is now."

"The Biological Corporation." Lincoln stated finally.

LJ shook his head. "What?"

"When we found Sara, our mission was to escort a package. The package was an oversized, iron capsule." He looked at Veronica who then nodded. "We were attacked by Veronica. But" he quickly said before LJ had the chance to open his mouth "she opened our eyes about one thing. The Colonel is up to something and he wants all of us dead." He looked at Sara. "There's something really special about you that the Colonel wants to hide, Sara. So we're going to do whatever it takes to get you to safety."

"You don't have to do that."

"But we're going to." Veronica said. "The Company has a safe headquarters. If we can just make it up there, we're guaranteed safety."

"So that's where we're heading?" LJ asked. "The Company headquarters? The people who wanted us Rangers-"

"We're not Rangers anymore, LJ." Lycan interrupted. He stood up, towering everyone in height. "As far as things go, we've been technically decommissioned and are now wanted fugitives. I say we give the Company a shot."

LJ nodded, but was still unsure about the whole idea of walking and asking help from the people they fought against.

"LJ, I have a question." Veronica looked at LJ, who turned his attention to her. "How did you master clones at such a high level? No mage, at least those that look like their fresh out of the academy, should be capable of such a technique."

"You're underestimating a Burrows." Lycan defended. "If you've seen how talented Linc here is and how well at strategizing he is, then you should understand why. They aren't the geniuses with the plan for a reason." He smiled while LJ and Lincoln chuckled. They shook their heads.

"Before this big buffoon-"

"Okay, I'm not a buffoon and-"

"Shut up so I can explain to her how I mastered the technique so early." LJ said brusquely. Lycan shrugged then backed off, letting him have the floor. "Anyways, bro, you know all those times I spent with Sofia?"

Lincoln nodded. "You and your girlfriend were… tangible at this point." Lycan snickered.

LJ ignored him. "Well, Sofia and I happened to stumble by a book that thought the technique."

"'Happen to stumble?'" Lycan smiled. He felt like getting under LJ's skin for the hell of it. "More like you two happened to 'stumble' your way into the _back-back_ section of the library while I was getting a book on the top shelf for the librarian."

LJ slapped him hard in the back and he cringed. "Shut up damn it! Do you have to tell him every single detail truthfully?"

"Nope." He snidely smiled. "Your statement just proved that you did something bad and that your older brother here can chastise you for it later."

LJ glared at Lycan. He knew that he was right. He clearly just presented proof that to Lincoln that he did something bad. What he was hoping for was that Lycan wouldn't tell him of their little tale at the tavern. "ANYWAYS… we took the book and studied the technique. It didn't take us long to get it down, but what I did was that I tried to make the clones appear like real bodies. I experimented with using blood. So when Lycan told you all that I was 'making out with my girlfriend', I was working on the technique in secret."

"Ahh…" Veronica said. "Well, now I should expect the very best from a Burrows now, should I?"

Lycan just nodded and shrugged. "Well there are moments where you shouldn't expect the best from a Burrows. For example, like yesterday. LJ and I were-" LJ slapped him in the back again, causing Lycan to cringe in pain. He laughed out loud and then LJ couldn't resist but laugh along as well. Veronica and Sara joined in. Lincoln could only smile as he was busy thinking.

Lincoln could see that this wasn't a job for Lycan anymore. It was more than that. "Lycan, can you come with me for a moment."

"Yeah, sure." He said after calming down. Lincoln walked back to the end of the hallway from which he entered. Lycan followed and when he stopped, so did he.

"So what's up?" Lycan asked.

"You've been pushing yourself to protect LJ a lot in my absence. But when I'm around, that means you don't have to." He said in a straight, almost thankful tone. "I know that the slash in your back won't heal all the way. You're killing yourself to protect my brother. I told you just to watch over him, not sacrifice your life for him."

"That's just the way you interpreted the promise you made me swear." He defended and sighed. "To tell you the truth, all I really intended to do was just to watch over him and keep him out of trouble. But later on, I learned that LJ really valued his family membership with you. He doesn't want to lose you.

He looked Lincoln in the eyes. "And I saw how you cried over his fake, dead body. Watching that from the distance while LJ was busy concentrating on keeping the dead clones from dissolving into ice cubes made me think that I want to make sure you two can keep that family bond. It's what I wish I could've lived for. So I'm doing this for the two of you. You have to stay alive for each other. I will expend myself at any chance if it'll make sure you two make it out of any situation alive."

"You do know that LJ can't bare the idea of losing his best friend either. You know that right?" Lincoln added. "You have to stay alive for him." He half-smiled "And me as well."

"And that's going to be a hard promise to keep."

"Well you better try harder. I swear to you that I'll strangle your dead body if you don't." Lincoln half-heartedly threatened.

Lycan chuckled. "I'll give it a shot. I'm not guaranteeing a thing though."

"That's all I ask."

Lycan and Lincoln sealed the deal with a handshake and a quick man-hug. He was careful not to touch the wound. It felt weird to Lycan that he was hugging someone smaller than him when he wasn't as old as Lincoln was.

They heard a groan from the distance. It was one that Lincoln recognized. Michael had finally woken up. He called everyone letting them know that Michael was awake. Sara flew ahead and sat right behind Michael as he sat up.

When he opened his eyes, he looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him with curious, worried, and loving eyes. Well Sara's eyes were the only ones showing love.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"Michael, what are you exactly?" Veronica asked gruffly. "That power… no human should have such a power."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember anything?" Lincoln asked.

"Well I remembered that you two were dead, or supposed to be." He pointed to LJ and Lycan. "And then Paul stabbed me in the neck. But tell me what's are you guys getting at and what power are you all talking about Veronica?"

Everyone else looked at each other. "Want the short or long story?" LJ asked.

Michael asked for the long story so Lincoln started off with the rundown of the events after he was stabbed in the neck by Paul. Everyone else added their own take to the story, specifically with LJ and Lycan explaining how they managed to make everyone believe that they were dead. They went over what happened to Michael and what he did. Lycan regretted showing him the scars after LJ incidentally blurted it out, but had to when Michael demanded after telling them about the dream he was in when he suddenly remembered when LJ and Lycan mentioned the part about the ice dome. They avoided telling him that the scars were actually deeper before Sara healed it. He was already guilty about hurting Lycan and they all knew it.

"Could you possibly tap into that power again?" Veronica asked curiously. She believed that the power Michael had could end and bring the truth about Padman's under the table deals, trades, and the rest of the dastardly events he made and caused.

"I don't think I would want to tap into that power again. I mean I could've killed Sara. I nearly killed Lycan." Michael was afraid of himself and not confident about controlling a power that he doesn't know how to use. He went berserk and no one could stop him, except for Sara.

"It's okay Michael." Sara said as she rubbed his shoulders. He turned around and saw her smile. "You're still you. That's all that matters to me, to us right now." Michael, in his despair, could only smile.

_I love you so much Sara. More than you realize._ Michael thought to himself. Lycan could feel a sudden shift in Michael's feelings and couldn't help but smile for his friend. "So, where do we head from here?"

"The safest bet would be to head up this ladder here and then head right down the hallway. That should bring us to an elevator that'll bring us back to your HQ." Veronica stated. She saw everyone besides Sara look disgusted with the idea of going back through HQ. "I know you're all scared, but our path to the Biological Corporation lies through the HQ."

LJ sighed. "Walking through the Lion's Den is just going to be a bottle of fun!" He said sarcastically.

"Well there is a faster way if we take the path left after going up the ladder. We could reach HQ within a few hours if we head in that direction." Lincoln suggested instead, after remembering the map of the whole LowSector Area.

"But that path leads through a lot of monsters!" Veronica said angrily.

"Yeah and your path practically takes the whole day!"

"Would you rather face monsters and get there quicker or travel a safe route for a day? Look at Lycan! Do you think he would make it through all the monsters?" She rebutted furiously.

"May I _not_ be included in this conversation?" Lycan asked sheepishly.

"STAY OUT OF IT!" They both yelled at him. Lycan put his hands up and walked backwards out of the group.

Everyone else decided to let them duke it out for a moment. Sara helped Michael stand up and LJ went to check on Lycan, who was busy keeping a watch out for incoming attacks. They weren't safe yet and the goal was to make it to the Company HQ. Lincoln and Veronica were oblivious that everyone wasn't around them as they endlessly started rebutting each other, eventually turning into an insult competition. LJ could only shake his head at his older brother, knowing that he probably liked her and they're just hiding their feelings. He even asked Lycan and he could confirm it.

Sara started to cough some more as they walked towards the hallway Lycan was resting at. Michael felt concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just the air. It's filled with a lot of smog and other things. None of it is fresh. Doesn't it bother you?"

"No. It doesn't. Just smells regular to me."

Sara coughed. She flapped her wings with the faintest hope that she'll get fresh air. But it was a useless attempt. All it did was taint her wings slightly black. Michael finally understood it. Her lungs were not built for this world. He could still hear Lincoln and Veronica arguing. "Go to Lycan and LJ. I'm going to end this argument." Sara nodded and Michael passed her a handkerchief to cover her nose. He then walked towards the arguing "couple".

"HEY!" He yelled, grabbing both of their attention and shutting the two of them up. "We're going the short way." Before Veronica had the chance to say anything, Michael quickly added "we're going to see if there's a treatment for Sara. She can't handle the air down here and the faster we get to BioCorps, the sooner we can see what we can do for her."

Veronica could only nod, but she wondered if Lincoln was smirking about his victory. She took one look at his face and he saw that he wasn't. _At least he's mature about things._ _Another reason to like him, I guess. _She had a list of things that she liked about Lincoln and a list of what she didn't like about him. So far, the list of things that she liked about Lincoln outnumbered her other list.

Michael then asked Lincoln to take point and show them the way through.


	8. Chapter 8

**I really want to hear what you guys think of this. I would love to know if you love it or hate it and see what I could do to change it and make it better. Please Review and criticize! :)**

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**Chapter 8: Reasons to Hate Luck**

After climbing up about fifteen meters on the ladder, they took the chance to look around and see if the area was clear. There weren't any lights, so Sara lit her staff alight. She stood next to Lincoln to help lead. They had to find some sort of stick, torch, or a flashlight of any kind. They went left down the hallway, making a turn when they could. Everything was still the same, bleak situation as the areas they've traveled recently, except in this case, it was like a hospital.

When they found a small procedure-like room to rest in, they entered to stop for a few moments, giving Lycan a chance to take a break with the pain in his back. He didn't say much about it, but they knew that the wound in his back would still be in sparking pain; pain that Michael hated he inflicted upon him in his berserk state. LJ sat beside him in case of a random attack. Lincoln spent the time planning with Veronica, who still detested the idea of traveling the short way, but shoved her thoughts because she valued Sara as a friend, a girl friend, a gal-pal, whichever way she felt like putting it.

Sara decided to check on Lycan's back again to see if she needed to heal the wound again. She needed to. The wound reopened again and he would be out of doing any extreme fighting for a couple of days. Michael ran by with a few more bandages.

"Sorry-"

"Get a grip, Michael." Lycan interrupted rudely. "I know you're feeling bad for what you did to me, but you couldn't control your actions."

"Lycan…" Michael said weakly.

"Look," he said more softly, "you can't keep feeling like what you did to me was your fault. I'm not sure what that new power did to you, but you can't blame yourself for the slashing you gave me."

"Michael, go-" Sara coughed again and the white light emitting from her hands dimmed a little bit. She concentrated more and the white light shined brightly again. "Just go check on what's going to happen now."

LJ remained silent beside Lycan, this time wondering why the heck he wasn't over there with his brother helping with the planning. When he noticed Michael heading in their direction, he got up. "Hey, you'll be alright here with Sara, right?" He asked quickly, caring less of what his answer would be.

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'm going to go help with the planning."

Lycan snorted. "About time."

"Shut up." He looked at Michael. "Wait up, Michael!" He ran and caught up to him.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wanting to go help out with the planning and seeing as you're heading there, we minus will just walk the short distance together."

Michael was baffled. "Okay…" It was the only reply he could give without thinking hard on it.

The two of them walked side by side until they reached Lincoln and Veronica, who were busy staring at the map with Sara's staff serving as the light. The map laid flat on the stainless steel table with the staff about fifty centimeters away from it. They couldn't decided which way to branch as Veronica had intel on which monsters would be in each one, presuming that none of them decided to hibernate. What sucked for them was that one path, after traveling about sixty meters, would branch left into a large room; the other would've led straight and then left into a small bridge that hung over a vast, rectangular room. The monsters contained in each were dangerous, one having a colony of oversized boars who had armor and weapons like a knight from the medieval days. The other was on a raggedy bridge that could only hold one person per crossing in a hallway that contained nothing but about a meter and a half sized paralyzing spiders. They didn't know which way would be safer.

"Splitting up across a bridge that spans about 10 meters is a bad idea, especially if we can't clear the spiders out." Veronica said.

"What if we baited them into the hallway?" Michael asked.

"That would take too long as we don't know how many of them are there." Lincoln said as he stared at the map. _There has to be another way…_

LJ stared at the map, analyzing each of the hallways. "Wait, what's this?" He pointed at a small line that was in the middle of each of the two paths that were laid out for them.

"That's one of the vents for the ventilation of this… hospital I guess." Veronica clarified. "I don't see how climbing through the vents would help us."

"That's the thing." Lincoln said smiling that his little brother saw this before any of them could. "They do help us." He pointed down on the line and traced it with his finger. "Look at where this goes." Everyone watched his finger. It went straight for a sixty centimeters on the map, then turned left across the middle side of the room with the boars. After thirty centimeters, it turned right and went right down the middle into the hallway adjacent to the room.

"Are they even wide enough?" Veronica asked. She never resorted to crawling through the ventilation system before.

"They should be for all of us; but not sure about Lycan." Lincoln said semi-confidently. He was sure, but then he wasn't sure.

"We could always pull him with a rope if he barely fits?" LJ suggested jokingly and he snidely smiled. He wanted to get Lycan back for the comments when they were treating him.

"And open his wounds in his shoulders? I don't think so." Michael defended. LJ pursed his lips together.

"LJ, come on, get over it, will ya?" Lincoln said, frustrated with the childish antics of him and Lycan. "We really need to work together to get this done. When we're safe, you two can go all out in your teenage ways."

"Alright! Sheesh! I'll stop!" LJ said in defeat.

"Well let's see if Lycan is ready to go." Lincoln rolled the map, stuffed it in his bag, and grabbed Sara's staff. Veronica loaded her shotgun and rifle while Michael and LJ went ahead. When Sara saw them approaching, she stopped healing the wound, seeing as she did all she could. There was a reason why she stopped. There was something burning within the blood of Lycan's and it seemed that Michael's slash was doing something to the blood.

"How's the wound?" Michael asked as he helped Sara stand up when he and LJ passed by Sara.

"I can't heal it fully." She said softly, yet beautifully all the while. "There's something stopping his skin cells from rejuvinating, same thing with his blood. The body responded well to the healing before, but now it's not even working." She said grimly. "Wherever we're heading, we better hope they have facilities for treatment."

"Don't worry." He reassured her. "We're heading somewhere where you could maybe learn more about yourself. Lycan might be able to get his treatment there too."

"Good." She smiled and hugged Michael. Her face turned straight when she remembered what he said. _Somewhere where you could maybe learn more about yourself. _Sara wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to remember more about her past. It was a simple item of mental inquisition and she was afraid of what she didn't know, or what she didn't want to know.

Michael caressed her left hand in his and smiled his sweet, melting smile. "Don't worry, Sara. You have friends who will be there to help you whenever you need it. Especially me."

Sara smiled. She indoubtly had friends whom she could rely on at any given moment. "Thank you, Michael."

They stared into each other's eyes, forgetting entirely that Lycan was still sitting there silently. Their love for each other grew with each passing second and they both very well knew it. The question was who would make the first move? Sara was waiting for Michael, but he was indeed doing the same. It was incredibly complicated.

Lycan and LJ were watching the two love birds stare at each other for a few seconds and then noticed that the others were drawing closer. "You know how I hate to interrupt a good moment, but I think we should move? Lycan needs a little help standing up here." LJ blatantly interrupted.

Michael and Sara turned their heads toward him and nodded quickly and shamefully. They helped him stand up on his two feet, which was just as uncomfortable as it was sitting down. Lycan just shrugged off the pain again and then began walking next to LJ as he led the way back into the hallway. Lincoln followed right behind them with Veronica not far behind. Sara and Michael walked in the back, hand in hand as they did in the warehouse, but like a couple this time.

*---*

Everyone walked straight down the seemingly endless hallway until they saw the ventilation. Luckily enough, it was wide and large enough for Lycan to fit through without any problems. They didn't need his back touching the vent sides as that would exacerbate his wound and perhaps infect it. The vent was too dim to see what was ahead, so Sara borrowed LJ's staff and lit his and hers both in a kindle flame that didn't burn the holder. She passed her staff to Lincoln and LJ's staff back to him. Lincoln pulled the cover off the entrance to the vent and jumped in. He helped pull up the others in, passing the staff to Michael to lead.

"Just keep following the path of the vents. If you hit a turn, turn and crawl in that direction." Lincoln told Michael. He nodded and began to crawl. Everyone followed, Lincoln being the back of their train. When Michael hit a left turn, he turned and continued to crawl that way.

"Quietly!" Lincoln whispered as loud as he could without alarming the monsters below them. Michael then slowed down to nearly a sliding worm movement to get through the vent as they crossed through the middle of the room above. The boar soldiers were snorting and chortling. They slammed their axes on the floor, making a loud, treacherous slam that shook the vents. This made everyone but Michael regret the decision as they held in the space.

"Move faster!" Michael murmured. He began to crawl swiftly, but like a ghost; almost as if he was ready to assassinate an unsuspecting foe by snapping its neck. Everyone nodded and began work across faster. One of the boars, the hefty one that towered high over the rest of the group, started swinging his axe up and down. The swing was rather mighty enough to cut through an armor built out of the toughest materials known to this world. Its sharp edges cut through the vent in front of Lycan, who miraculously kept his mouth shut. The group was separated and they didn't know what to do as they looked back.

"Lycan, pull back!" Lincoln whispered. He responded with a quick nod and tried to shimmy backwards, but then the worst of the worst occurred. The leader, who was the genetically overgrown boar, swung his axe upwards in a sideways position, and slammed into the vent, which dented it upwards, towards Lycan's gut and chest, nearly squishing him. Ultimately, it dropped on top of it with Lycan knocked out from the impact. His head popped out of the front side of the vent. The boars stared at it for a moment. Lincoln spent the time observing, praying that they weren't going to attempt to kill him when he looked like he was practically dead. LJ thought the same thoughts.

They sniffed his head and then looked between one another. The leader snorted when it looked at its comrades. It was their way of communication. There were 20 other boars besides the leader that surrounded Lycan. Veronica, who couldn't exactly see what was going on, knew what was about to happen as the boars chatted away. She managed to squeeze past Sara and LJ and dropped down in the middle of the boars.

"What is she doing?" LJ stressfully asked.

"No time to ask, just follow her!" Michael commanded. And as he said that, Lincoln dropped down, drew his sword and was back to back with Veronica. Sara grabbed LJ with her arms like an eagle would to catch its food and flew out of the vent on the outer side of the boars. Michael dropped down and drew his sword in the middle of the crowd.

"Protect Lycan!" Lincoln ordered. "He won't be able to fight when he wakes up, so protecting him is the number one priority!" He swung his sword around and then held it at a ready position in front of him. Veronica cocked her shotgun and Michael held it to the side. LJ and Sara had no time to throw shields and magic incantations so they conjured their elements in their staves and hands. Though the boars were mainly melee close-up fighters with clubs, maces, and axes, seldom few were magistrates. They didn't know what to expect from them, especially the bulky leader. Lycan could've climbed on top of it and knocked it out, but they have to improvise with what they have. Their luck couldn't have gotten worse, at least they hoped.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: A New Chance**

The battle ensued for what seemed to be almost a full hour to everyone. Right as the battle started, everyone was forced to scatter, everyone taking more than their share of the boars. LJ focused on freezing his monsters in place. His main concern was trying to get the leader's simple-mindedness away from Lycan. Protecting his friend was more important than anything, seeing as he was knocked out. What made matters worse was that the mages they were fighting weren't fighters, but healers. They're tusks and cries were a spell being casted. It thawed every monster he freezed. The only way they could keep the monsters off Lycan was if they killed them, which was harder than anticipated.

The boars were more intelligent than they anticipated. Even though the boars were one-tracked, they made sure that none of them were left to fight alone. None of them could get close enough to their healers or have enough time to cast a ranged spell or aim a well-placed headshot.

After about five minutes of running around and fighting, Lincoln and Michael had only managed to kill two of the lackies. Lincoln thrusted his sword into the neck of one and when a boar tried to hit him behind with an axe, Michael parried the attack and slashed right through its neck, blood squirting out as the head slid off. Veronica was left running away, avoiding every swing possible. She was grazed slightly in the shoulder by a slow, powerful swing of the leader's axe. Sara had flown by and picked her up. Everyone regrouped in front of Lycan's body, breathing heavily as they wasted energy in an unwanted fight. It should've been easier than the previous battle, but that was because of Michael's hidden power.

"We have to get those damn healers." Veronica breathed heavily between her words. "We can't do anything with them around."

"What about the leader?" Michael asked.

"I was going to say Lycan if he woke up-" Lincoln started.

"No." LJ quickly interrupted. "He can't fight." He looked down at his friend, who was still unconscious from the blow. "Not in his condition." He said glumly. Lycan's life was important to him; his friendship along with the fact that he depended on him to be there with him was important.

"They're attacking!" Sara shouted as several of the boars flanked them left and right. LJ casted a strong wind spell to blow Lycan out of the way as the rest of the group engaged the flanking boars. Sara casted a fire shield to deter the boars on the right. Michael and Lincoln parried the axe swings. The fight really wasn't turning out for them. If they were anymore intelligent, Lycan probably would've been attacked by the leader.

*---*

When Paul finally ran back alone to HQ, everyone, the commoners and the other rangers, were inconspicuously gawking at him as he treaded by. Everyone knew he left on a mission with a rather large group of men, but when he came back alone unscathed, it aroused suspicion about the mission. His credibility as a ranger, a leader, a man who was capable of becoming regent, disappeared.

Paul was aware of the blank stares around him, but he couldn't do anything. If he reacted, others would absolutely know that he failed the mission Colonel Padman gave him. All he could do was ignore them.

He slowed down his walking. He had to report the mission failure to the Colonel. The ending of the report would've led to a worse fate for Paul. _Fail this mission and be sent back into the academy for a full 18 years._ He sighed and just pushed back the idea of dealing with 18 long, grueling years in the academy.

When he reached the entrance to the Colonel's office, he paused, leaving himself poised to knock on the door. He started to review the events that occurred in the previous battle. Michael was impervious to attacks and he was too powerful and fast. He couldn't recognize his own friends and started swinging at Lycan, who was skilled enough to avoid the deadly strikes. _Berserker_, he thought.

He recalled the red scales and the fiery aura that emanated from it. What was he exactly? Michael was human, at least that's what was put on his file. There was something more about him, something different. It wasn't the same Michael that he always knew would stay a grunt. He was different. But he still had the same characteristics about him. He still trusted him as friend, well at least until Paul stabbed him. And he still had the same loyalty that he held for his friends. But what made him into that monstrosity?

He turned around and walked to the library. He realized that the lights had dimmed, making it nighttime. He was going to find out more about Michael, the Colonel, and the mysterious power Michael obtained.

*---*

Paul entered the library, feeling relieved that no one was there, not even the librarian. That allowed him to enter the restricted section without fear of being caught. Everyone knew Paul was back, but not a single soul went and told the Colonel for they feared that he already knew and was furious with what happened in the mission. No one wanted to get the backlash so they remained quiet.

He looked around the restricted section for anything about mysterious powers, or anything in general that had anything to do with the mythical or mystical genre. He also included in his search about the history of the Colonel. There had to be something on the shelves since the Colonel was a man that trained Rangers for a long time. _There had to be some sort of biography..._

"Paul!" A lady who sounded like she was in her early 20s whispered loudly as possible.

He jumped around, surprised that there was someone with him. Paul looked at her and scowled. Why did it have to be her? _Why did it have to be Lilian?_ "What do you want?" He asked rudely. "I thought you and LJ were over each other."

"Where's LJ?" She asked in the same manner, disregarding the fact that he had brought up the break-up.

Lilian was a graduate from the academy. She graduated the same year as Lycan and LJ. She was about as tall as he was. Her skin was tanned and her hair was strawberry blonde. She wore her regular uniform which were red mage overalls that had a golden lightning bolt on both sides. It was exactly like LJ's. Her staff was more equipped for melee fighting at the sacrifice of slightly weaker magic with the sharp, steel, long arrowheads at both sides.

"I don't know." Paul lied. He stared at the bookcase before him, scanning for the books he needed to find. A few moments later, he realized that she was still there beside him. "Is there anything else you need?" He hinted in his voice that he wanted her to go away.

"Paul," she said in a hard tone. "I know he left with Lycan and you for some big mission. I could care less about Lycan, but what matters most to me is LJ," her tone was frantic now. "And he's not here."

Paul shook his head. "Just go your own way, Lil. I don't have time to talk to you." He went back to searching.

"Are you looking for information on the Colonel?"

He dumbly looked at her when she said exactly what she was searching for. "I knew it."

"Do you know where I can find information on him?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Well, I searched the libraries archives and everything. There's not a single file on him anywhere." She said matter-of-factly.

"May I ask why you were searching for information on him?" Paul asked. There was something different about Lilian. It was like she was trying desperately to find LJ and talk to him. He knew it probably was how she wanted to apologize for her dislike of Lycan. She wanted to apologize for her jealousy towards him.

She and LJ broke up a long time ago. Well they never really broke up. They just never went out. Four years ago, they were meant to go out. LJ and Lilian never separated from one another. In the academy, there was this whole entire bet about the two of them marrying right out of graduation. Then three years before they all graduated together, LJ met Lycan for the first time. The two of them were almost like long, lost brothers (although most of the reason as to why they clicked easily was because Lincoln spilled information about LJ to him so that he would be able to get to know him better. Lycan was a pretty decent liar when it boiled down to it).

After Lilian saw how LJ and Lycan were really good friends, she felt like she was shafted off into another part of LJ's mind. She wanted to be his center of attention, but she didn't want to do anything that would make him mad at her. So she just left and fell right off the radar. She and LJ were just friends after that. But she still felt like she wanted to be a bigger part of his life and now she wanted to apologize and make things work between her and Lycan.

However, her reasons were not only that, but because she disliked Sofia for LJ. Sofia wasn't the type who would wait on LJ. She was more of the work hard to get somewhere type. It was like she was a female version of Paul, but with long black hair, brown skin, and tighter clothes than what he would wear. Her clothes were like Paul's, but longer and tighter around her body. Also she was an Ice Mage like LJ, but less on the melee side of the staff and more on the range. Her only reason in life was like Paul's; she wanted to succeed at whatever cost and LJ was a help in getting there.

Lilian never did like Sofia and it was only until after LJ left for his first mission was when she spent the time to get information on her and the Colonel. When Paul came back without Lincoln or Michael, she grew apprehensive and had to find out what was going on. If LJ came back before they did, she would've reported what she could find out to him, fully knowing well that he would do anything for his brother as he would do for him.

She explained her reason for researching information the Colonel to Paul and she especially added the details about Sofia. After she finished, she looked him in the eyes. "Now what has the Colonel been up to and what has happened these past few days? Everything's been spiraling out of control and there's not a chance that he could be behind all of it."

Paul debated whether or not it would be a good idea to tell her. At this point, he was confused whether or not he still wanted to become regent, but what he did know was that Lilian was skillful in gathering intel, so he spilled the last few days of information. He asked that she wouldn't suddenly outburst and that she would keep quiet as he told the story as well as he could from memory.

With every bit of information that Paul gave to her, Lilian nodded at several points to show that she was listening intently. Then when he spilled information about what he had put LJ and Lycan through, she frowned and resisted from getting angry at him. That was only because he said that he regretted that decision entirely after he went through with it. It wasn't worth it to him, promotion or not.

When Paul finished, Lilian looked him straight in the eyes. "So you see, Lil? I was only following orders."

"I know." She answered. "That's the life of a ranger, I guess." She sighed and went back to thinking. _We need information to bribe or blackmail the Colonel with. Paul's not going to find anything here because I've pretty much checked the entire library in the past few days._ Then she began thinking about Paul's life. She pretty much had everything there was to know about him. "Hey," she said after suddenly coming up with an idea. "Do you still have access to your dad's apartment?"

Paul caught on almost immediately. "Yeah, I do. And I think I know where you're getting at." He turned around and then stopped in place, realizing that he forgot about her. "Do you want to come along, Lilian?"

"I was going to come along whether or not you asked. Your path will lead me to LJ and Lycan and that's where I need to be right now." She said conclusively and smiled. They were quiet for a moment. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Paul half-smiled. He was used to working alone, but he was glad that there was someone who looked like she forgave him for his actions. Or she didn't care. Maybe he did get another, new chance to restart and repent. But the path he chose would inevitably cross with Michael's and Lincoln's. He had a faint hope that they would allow him back into the group.

Paul led the way to his dad's apartment.

*---*

They battle was still going on. Lincoln and Michael tried their best to defend Lycan, but were often separated. The healers threw a speed buff into the mix and the other boars moved swifter. It made it harder to land a killing strike.

Veronica, Sara, and LJ spent a majority of their time dodging the faster boars' axe swings. There wasn't time to cast a spell to target the healers. It was a bleak situation at this point.

"Linc!" LJ yelled as he dodged another strike. "We need to get Lycan out of here and regroup!"

"Like I-" he dodged another swipe and parried another. "Haven't thought of that before!" He swung his blade but missed.

_There's only one option left. _Michael thought. His mind flashed with memories of his friend's fighting for their lives and Lycan's. He tried to find it within himself to tap into the power within.

_Now is not the time, young warrior._ The same voice he remembered from when he was in that dark place warned.

_When _is_ the right time?_ Michael harshly thought back. He watched Sara fly and dodge strikes in the small room. He rolled back to avoid a headsplitter attack. _We're going to die if I don't use the power you granted me._

_If you use this power exceedingly, you won't make it to the end. There will be a time and a place for you to use it. Remember what I said before. _She said mystically. _Now it is up you to decide when to use it. Be wise, young warrior._

Michael could only groan. She left him with the knowledge on how to tap into it, but how was he going to know when to use it? Now felt like a good time, but she said that now wasn't the right time. He dodged another swing and parried a strike when Sara flew behind him.

"What do we do, Michael?" She asked. Sara managed to cast a small spell, but the damage was healed by the boars. They watched as Veronica dodged several more strikes as with Lincoln and LJ. Then they realized that the leader was missing from the group after a few moments.

The leader finally got fed up with the never-ending battle and started walking towards Lycan, realizing that they were protecting him. His axe dragged on the floor, making a screeching sound like fingernails across a chalkboard.

"No!" They all yelled. Veronica did what she could and tried to make it to the giant leader. She blew the other boars away with her shotgun, but it wasn't powerful enough to keep them down. They got up and rushed at her right away.

Lincoln and Michael were stuck parrying strikes and there was nothing they could do to move forward.

Sara tried to move forward, but the small warriors stopped her from going any further.

Then they all watched as LJ made a mad dash towards Lycan, stopping in front of his body. He casted a magic shield that deflected the leader's powerful swing.

"LJ!" Lincoln yelled. He growled and swung harder and faster desperately to reach his younger brother.

"I'm-" He deflected another strike. "Not letting him die!"

The leader swung strong again, his axe being deflected. It got more infuriated.

LJ's strength started to wane and he couldn't hold off against another strike. He watched as the axe rose high above its head, ready to crash down full force on him and Lycan. At least he could die with his friend.

"No!" Lincoln cried. Then he heard a rocket blast out of nowhere and the leader groaning in pain. He watched as the smoke dissipated and a brown man, roughly about his height, shaved head, black vest shaped around his chest and abs, and black pants jump from over it. The leader was dead and the man before him stood in front of its body.

"Too much for you to handle, Veronica?" He asked coolly like he knew her. His submachine guns were in his hands, with a semi-automatic rifle slung over his back. "Someone thought you were taking too long."

Veronica smiled when he looked at him. "Glad to see you made it, Sucre."

"Now what needs some blowing up?" He asked nonchalantly. Sucre was out for some fun and it looked like he was about to have a little bit more interesting fighting now. He shoved his two guns in their holsters and took out his semi-automatic rifle and aimed at the two healers, capping both of them in the forehead. The smaller warriors ran at him and he flipped backwards, swinging his rifle on his back and pulling his submachine guns out of their holsters and firing at the two boars that rushed him. He landed perfectly on his two feet.

The rest of the boars were left to slaughter as Veronica shot each of them with her shotgun and Sara and LJ throwing potent spells to get rid of them. Lincoln and Michael mopped up the rest. They cleared the room, picked up Lycan, and ran as swiftly as possible to find a safe spot near the entrance to the Ranger's HQ.


	10. Character Profiles

Finding Air Character Profiles

**Michael Scofield**

**Age:** 30

**Race:** Human

**Rank:** Grunt

**Weapon of Choice:** Sword

**Description:** Michael Scofield is one of the grunts who have completely been a failure to the society he now is in. The only thing he has to his name is courage and the ability to never give up. He reveres Paul Kellerman, who is his leader and his cohort in many of the missions. He works alongside Lincoln Burrows, who is also a grunt, but only by choice. Michael is a hard-worker and he will always try to give 110% in every mission, even when it's not enough.

**Lincoln Burrows**

**Age: **30

**Race: **Human

**Rank: **Grunt

**Weapon of Choice: **Sword

**Description: **Lincoln Burrows is a grunt who chose to stay that way. He couldn't leave his good friend Michael alone at the bottom while Paul scaled up to the top and higher ranks. He is capable of becoming a Regent, the highest rank known to their society known as the Rangers. With his superior intellect in battle as well as their world and his skill set in Swords, Lincoln is a valuable asset to the team. However, he is also really lazy and could never give a damn about work.

**Paul Kellerman**

**Age: **32

**Rank: **Commander

**Race:** Human

**Weapon of Choice: **Sword

**Description: **Paul Kellerman is one who wants to be recognized for his talents and his work as a Ranger. His sword skill set is one to be matched by both Michael and Lincoln combined and he is the leader that gets them through every one of the missions. He never fails a mission and will never allow a blunder in any case so he tends to pick up after Michael's mistakes and never Lincoln's. His dream is to become a Regent.

**Sara Tancredi**

**Age: **Unknown

**Rank: **None

**Race:** Winged Humanoid

**Weapon of Choice: **Magic FireStaff

**Description: **N/A yet.

**LJ Burrows**

**Age: **18

**Rank: **Trainee-Grunt

**Race:** Human

**Weapon of Choice: **Magic Ice Staff

**Description: **LJ is the younger brother of Lincoln. He's not as intelligent as Lincoln, but he's just about there. Unlike his older brother, LJ is motivated to reach the top. He is still in training, but he can use his staff like no other. He is soon to graduate along with his friend and partner in training, Wolf.

**Lycan "Wolf" Kovurn**

**Age: **18

**Rank: **Trainee-Grunt

**Race:** Human

**Weapon of Choice: **Fists and Knuckles

**Description: **Lycan is one of the only people who have dared to even try up-close combat with just his the weapons on his fists. Therefore with his speed, strong body, and tall constitution, he became "Wolf." He and LJ met when they were in school to become Rangers. Since then, Lycan has always had LJ's back in anything he did. He didn't care whether or not LJ did something stupid. He's a true friend at heart. But he can be somewhat of a loud-mouth when it comes to protecting his friend. He is however, very conscious of himself and he doesn't speak much of his family.

**Veronica Donovan**

**Age: **29

**Rank: **1st Lieutenant

**Race:** Human

**Weapon of Choice: **Pistols, Rifles

**Description: **Veronica was a 1st Lieutenant when she did her service with the Rangers. She worked by herself, which allowed her to progress way ahead of her class. Only a year younger than Burrows and Scofield, she suddenly disappeared after murder charges were framed on her. She now works for the Company and is in pursuit for Sara. But that all changed very quickly.

**Colonel "Padman" Krantz**

**Age: **55

**Rank: **Colonel

**Race:** Human

**Weapon of Choice: **Lightning Enchanted Sword

**Description: **Krantz, also known as Padman, was highly regarded among all rangers. He's a straightforward person and always wants the job to be done with little to no errors. Padman had almost made it to Regent, but he was already growing old. It was out of reach for him. He was fine with the job of training new Rangers. Extremely wise in combat and still having the skill of someone twice as young as him, he is feared for his skills.

***Subject to change as the story progresses.**


End file.
